Existence
by Denim88
Summary: He left, feeling that it would better protect those he cared for. Was it the right choice? What would result from this decision? Naruto set out for a new home, and created a new path for himself. Watch as our hero's legacy unfolds. NarutoxTemari.
1. Monster

**Disclaimer: Word on the street says that Mr. Kishimoto owns Naruto, not me. Sad, eh?**

**Hey everyone! Guess what? I got another story in the works! Woohoo! Now, unlike my other two, this has no relation to them other than they're all based off of Naruto...obviously. A few things I'll be telling you right now so you won't be asking later:**

**1)Kyuubi isn't going to be like in 'Better Late Than Never' and 'Here and Now'...this Kyuubi wants to get out of Naruto, and destroy everything...just like the manga and anime.**

**2)While I'm putting this in the category of NarutoxTemari, there will be possible NaruxSaku as well. **

**3)This story isn't being told from first person, unlike my other two.**

**Okay, so there's a few things for your information. Well, without further ado, I give you...chapter one!**

**Chapter One: I'm a Monster...**

It was over...finally. The mist had cleared, and Gato was dead, as well as Haku and Zabuza. The Land of Waves was now free to continue the bridge without any further threats from Gato's forces. It was a time to celebrate. Well, it should have been at least. One of the Genin of Team Seven, however, didn't feel much like doing that at the moment.

_"Wha...what happened to me back there? Was that...the demon fox taking over?"_ Naruto thought to himself, shaking a little as he looked at the blood on his finger tips. He had taken a clean swipe at Haku's stomach, and probably would have killed him had the boy not gotten away-only to instead die from a Raikiri to the chest, saving his sensei Zabuza.

It was so evil. Such blood lust shouldn't be able to come from _him_...right?

Naruto fell to the ground, and felt his insides turning. _What's wrong with me?_

Kakashi, who was standing by a recovering Sasuke and grateful Sakura, looked over to his blond haired student. He walked over to the boy, feeling the uneasiness emanating from him. Kneeling down beside his student, he put a hand on his shoulder, and watched as Naruto flinched. A clear sign that _something_ was wrong.

"Naruto...are you all right?"

Naruto shook his head in reply to Kakashi's inquiry, then without warning, vomited. He was clenching his stomach, rolling around in pain. His eyes were shut tight as he gasped for air.

"Naruto!" Kakashi said, holding the boy down and checking his forehead. It was burning hot, and Kakashi had a good idea as to what had caused it, "Sakura, tell Tazuna-san to get us medical attention, quickly! Naruto's breaking into a fever!" He kept out the part of the youth having just unleashed a portion of the nine-tailed fox's chakra not too long ago.

Sakura nodded, and ran off to inform the bridge-builder of her teammate's condition.

00000000

Naruto opened his eyes to a dimly-lit room. The shades were pulled shut, but from the look of some light poking through, he guessed it was close to sunset. A small fan was running next to his bed, and he felt the moisture of a wet cloth on his forehead. Despite the cold air running through the room, and the damp rag of cold water, the bed sheets clung to him as he felt the sweat on his back run down his body. In the corner of the room on a chair was the sleeping form of Sakura wrapped in a blanket, snoring lightly.

Naruto was about to get out of the bed when suddenly he felt a burning pain rack through his body, and an image of two burning eyes flashed through his vision. He clutched his stomach, and felt himself fall back into the bed, heaving in air as the pain subside almost as quickly as it came.

Sakura stirred in her chair, then awoke to see Naruto breathing rapidly as he put a hand against his forehead, "Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling, Naruto?" she asked her teammate as she got out of her chair, and took a seat on his bed

Naruto slowly scooted away from her, "I don't know...how's Sasuke? I saw that he was waking up from Haku's attack." Naruto replied, trying to change the subject.

Naruto's behavior didn't go unnoticed to the pink-haired kunoichi. She quirked an eyebrow, but decided to reply to his question, "Yeah, he's fine. A little sore, but nothing that Sasuke-kun can't handle..." She then reached to check his forehead. Naruto flinched as she made contact, "What's wrong, Naruto?"

"P-please...don't come any closer to me..." he whispered, trying to stop himself from shaking, thinking of what happened in the fight earlier today. That wasn't him back there, but it was _his_ body that did the damage, "...I don't want...to hurt you."

"What are you talking about?"

Naruto shivered as the cold air from the fan hit his bare back, "There's something wrong with me Sakura-chan. I don't want to accidentally hurt you because of it."

Now, being in the same class as Naruto during her days as an Academy student proved to show when Naruto was not himself. Usually he'd give her a stupid grin and say something like, 'I'm fine Sakura-chan!' and then try to prove it and get out of the bed or something like that. However, right now he looked downright scared, and was acting like he was contaminated with a deadly disease.

"I'm going to get Kakashi-sensei. Stay here until we get back, Naruto." she said as she walked to the door. Before leaving she gave him a fleeting glance. He gave her a weak smile, and she knew he was hiding something from her. As much as he annoyed her, she _did_ care about his well-being. Besides, he could be nice at times.

Sakura managed to find her sensei along with Sasuke after ten minutes of searching. They were by a small river near the house, sitting and talking about something.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she called to the masked Jounin.

Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha both turned to Sakura, "What's wrong Sakura?"

She gave him a shake of her head, signifying that she was unsure of how to answer, "I don't know...Naruto's acting weird; saying something about not wanting me to come closer, and that he may accidentally harm me."

Kakashi sighed, knowing full well what was meant by the boys words, "All right, let's go check on him." Sakura nodded while Sasuke silently got up and followed.

When they reached the room their blond teammate was in, they were greeted by an empty room. The window was open, and a kunai was stuck to the wall near the open window. Pinned by the kunai was a note, which appeared to be written in a very hasty manner. Kakashi already was dreading what the paper might say.

He plucked the kunai off the wall and read the note silently:

_To Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, and Sasuke,_

_ I've left because I don't want to cause anyone unintentional harm. The village was right; I am a monster. I think it would be best if I remained far away from Konoha_ _for its own safety. I don't know how much control I have over my problem, and I don't want anyone close to me to find out. I'll miss you guys._

_ -Naruto_

_ P.S- Please tell Hokage-jiisan and Iruka-sensei that I'm sorry, and that I understand if I'm labeled as a missing-nin._

Kakashi sighed as he put the letter in a pocket inside his vest. He feared that this would happen, but not _this_ soon. He turned to his two remaining Genin, who were looking at him expectantly.

"Well, where's the dobe?" Sasuke asked, sounding mildly concerned.

"Gone." Kakashi answered, turning to the open window. He couldn't detect the boy's scent, seeing as the ocean air decided to be strong tonight, and there was a light drizzle outside; just enough to destroy any scent trail for him. Salt invaded his nostrils as he breathed in the air. On a normal night, he'd be able to track the boy down, no problem. He was only a shinobi though; not a nin-hound. Kakashi gazed down to the ground outside the window, and much to his chagrin, noticed at least several dozen sets of footprints. Obviously Naruto had thought this through; he made Shadow Clones that had gone in several directions. It'd be a wild goose chase at this point. If he didn't have Sakura and Sasuke with him, he _may_ be able to track him.

"Gone?" Sakura echoed, "Why?"

Could he lie about Naruto's reason to his two students? Yes, but they would eventually find out the truth one way or another, regardless of the Third's law. He sighed, cursing his luck, knowing that even though they probably just missed him by five minutes or so, that with the boy's stamina, he was long gone. He looked back at the two, and pinched the bridge of his nose behind his mask, knowing that the next couple of hours were going to be stressful for the Jounin.

"I think you two should have a seat. I'm going to tell you both something that could get me killed, considering that the Third Hokage has forbade _anyone_ to speak of it. However, given the circumstances, I believe you two have the right to know. Hopefully you'll come to realize what Naruto's gone through a little better once I'm done explaining." He wasn't surprised to see the two rookie Genin silent with confusion, "All I ask is that you keep all questions to yourself until I'm done."

Sakura and Sasuke had a feeling that whatever was about to be said wouldn't be leaving the walls around them.

Sasuke and Sakura were speechless as Kakashi finished his story about their teammate's background. To say that they were shocked was an understatement. Naruto; the container of the Kyuubi? They were always told that the Fourth Hokage had sacrificed his life to _kill_ the Nine-tailed fox...not to seal it in an infant child.

"...and that's why I believe that Naruto ran off; to try and protect us...even though he had been doing that already by merely holding the demon-fox inside of him..." Kakashi finished, feeling exhausted from telling them their missing teammate's story. He gave them some time to let it sink in, "Just to remind you, Naruto is _not_ the Kyuubi. He is the container. I hope you two can see the difference between the two, unlike many people in Konoha who either are unaware of this, don't care, or are unable to do anything about it." Kakashi added, just to make sure they understood.

Sasuke, for the life of him, couldn't get past the fact that Naruto had an even worse life than he thought he originally had. With that being said, Sasuke _knew_ that Naruto's life was rough...he just never knew the reason why. He felt a twinge of guilt for the first time in quite a few years. One of the only people who didn't sympathize with him or treat him as though he was royalty was gone. Naruto was the closest he ever had to a friend, and now that was gone he didn't know what to make of things. He also never knew that Naruto had dealt with so much hatred when he was younger, and _still_ was even after he became a ninja.

He dealt with all that cruelty, all that hatred...and Sasuke had known nothing of it.

If Sasuke felt guilty, then Sakura was ready to beat herself out of shame. After thinking about it, she never had been the kindest person to the blond. She had grown up with the notion that the boy was a troublemaker, and just happened to be more misguided than other children without parents. She never would have guessed that Naruto was hated for something he had no control over. This brought a Sakura to a horrible realization: she wasn't much different from the villagers in a few ways. Sure, she never outright beat him like Kakashi had told them that the villagers once did when he was younger (this had brought Sakura nearly to tears), but she also never tried to comfort him. She was pretty sure that if she had known this information earlier on, she may have been able to help her runaway teammate..

Sasuke looked up, "We should go after him." The Uchiha boy was ready to jump out the window when a hand grabbed him by the shirt.

"No, Sasuke. He left long before we arrived here, and knowing him, he's out of range. Even if I tried to have my nin-hounds track him, he used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to throw off the scent. His trail would be dry by the time we find out which of the trails was false," the silver-haired man paused to look at his students, and definitely felt their spirits fall further upon hearing that last bit from him, "Besides, we can't afford to take up anymore time. We need to head back to Konoha and report this to the Hokage." he finished.

Sakura's eyes lit up with a hint of fear, "B-but Kakashi-sensei, he'll be made a missing-nin as soon as they-"

"I'm aware of this Sakura, the chances of him being labeled a missing-nin are very likely, but hopefully the Hokage can pull a few strings to give Naruto a chance." Kakashi said, giving one last look to the window before finishing, "Okay team, get to bed. We're leaving at nine o' clock tomorrow morning, and no later, if not sooner than that."

The two nodded in reply, and slowly got up, heading to their respective rooms.

00000000

Naruto stood on a tree limb, trying to catch his breath. He had not run that fast in ages, probably the last time being his seventh birthday when that group of drunkards tried to attack him. He shook the thoughts from his head. He needed to think of something else; after all, he was starting a new life tonight. He instructed all of Shadow Clones to run in their given direction for a whole three hours, change direction, then go for another four hours. He estimated by that time that they would probably dispel from using up their given chakra supply that the blond allotted to each of them.

The lights of the village that he had learned so much in the last few days from were dimming. One by one, the went out as people went to retire for the night, to the safety and warmth of their beds. Naruto only hoped that his teammates weren't suffering, however, knowing how his reputation was, they may as well be celebrating. Sakura was probably enjoying the fact that she had Sasuke all to herself now, he imagined.

Naruto looked to the forests ahead, and sighed, "Where do I go now?" he thought aloud, realizing he was south of Fire Country right now. He pulled out his compass, and then pulled out a map immediately after.

Using a small flashlight, he examined it quickly while sitting in the tree. Northeast would lead to Kumogakure, and he was sure the Hidden Cloud was not a good option. Northwest was also out of the question, considering that Earth Country wasn't on the best of terms with Fire Country. North would be going to Fire Country itself, definitely out of the question. He ruled out Water Country; he didn't have a way of crossing so much water, and after meeting Zabuza, he'd rather not chance meeting more Mist-nin if he could help it. The smaller villages of Grass, Rain, Waterfall, and Sound seemed appealing at first...but if Konoha by some twist of fate found out that Naruto was in one of the small nations' villages, it could cause problems. West lead to Wind Country, but he knew nothing of it aside from that the ninja village there had relatively peaceful relations with Konoha, considering that the two were under a treaty.

"West it is then..." he said, stashing away his map and looking to where his compass was pointing. He turned to his left, and sighed. Before taking off into the night, he untied his headband. No way would Konoha ever want him back...and doing this would only further support the anger they held towards him. He still cared for the village, but that was why he was doing this. To _truly_ protect them.

"Good bye, Konoha..." he said, tucking his headband into his backpack, and leaped to where he believed to be the direction towards Wind Country, and hopefully a better future.

**end of Chapter One- Heheh, yeah, I'm sure there's others out there. I just thought it would be cool to see where I go with this. Let me inform you right now, before you ask, this will go into the Chuunin exam times. Well, let me know what you think! **


	2. Traveler

**Disclaimer: Well, I don't own Naruto...but I own a box of Ramen Noodles!! Oh yeah! **

**Chapter Two: Traveler**

It had been close to a week and a half since the remaining three members of Team Seven got back from the Land of Waves. Sasuke and Sakura were instructed by Kakashi and the Hokage himself to say that Naruto had been lost in the middle of the mission, and was assumed as either dead, or lost. It was horrible, but for all they knew, it was correct. It was either that, or have Naruto be marked as a nuke-nin right off the bat.

Sakura and Sasuke were waiting in their usual training ground for their sensei to arrive, saying he had some urgent news. Sakura and Sasuke could only assume the worst by what that meant.

"I miss him..." Sakura spoke, reflecting the current mood she had been in the last couple days.

"Hn..." was all that was said by her dark haired teammate.

Sakura gave Sasuke a sad, yet also somewhat angered look. Ever since Naruto ran off, he had become even more distant and withdrawn than before. Whenever she did talk to him, he would either tell her to leave him alone, or simply try to get away from her. She was starting to have second thoughts about the Uchiha...or maybe he was just under as much stress as her and she wasn't aware of it.

"Is that all you have to say? Not even a 'Yeah, me too.' or a 'Same here.'? Doesn't this bother you at all, Sasuke?" she asked him.

Sasuke was a little surprised by her outburst. He had always believed she was simply a fangirl who always agreed with him. The fact that she was standing up to him was a sign that she was more than that.

At the same time though, he gave her a glare, "Don't make assumptions about _me_, Sakura. You want to know the truth?" he asked her, and didn't wait for a response, "Yeah, I _do _miss him somewhat. He was my only friend, well, the only person who came close to one. I could be upset and depressed, but what good would that do?" He paused, and lessened his glare at her, and looked ahead at nothing in particular, "Now I'll have to train even more so I can bring the idiot back...and so I can defeat..._him_."

Sakura looked at Sasuke, and asked, "Defeat Naruto?"

Sasuke shook his head, "No...someone else."

Before Sakura could press further into the matter, a puff of smoke signaled the arrival of their Jonin teacher, and it wasn't long before she heard his casual "Yo." He was disheartened to not hear the usual reply from Sakura and a certain blond in the words of 'You're _late_!', so he simply continued, "Well, I've got some bad news...and some worse news..."

"What's the worse news?" Sakura asked, hoping that the bad news would be easier to take if she heard the worse part first.

Kakashi nodded, "They can't find Naruto at all in Fire Country...and our search teams have failed to find any trace of him in the Land of Waves as well, which is next to impossible in regards to tracking down a Genin. Any further tracking would cause problems with neighboring nations if we sent our shinobi into their borders without their prior knowledge.

Sakura deflated, losing the last bit of hope she had at finding Naruto. She turned to Sasuke to see that he was expressionless, except that his eyes had narrowed, and was staring more intently at nothing.

Kakashi saw this and gave an sigh. His team was trying to recover, and he knew that...but he also knew that as much of a pain the boy had been, Naruto had been a key in the team's morale and the social glue that kept them together, even if they didn't realize it.

Sakura fought back the urge to shed tears once again, and looked up to her sensei. To her surprise, he was standing there, not moving an inch, and his book was missing, "Kakashi-sensei?"

He snapped out of his thoughts, "Oh...right. Well, the bad news is that there's no available shinobi at the moment who can join our team...and that means we're going to have a difficult time ahead. Not only will we now be short one person, but the Chuunin exams will be coming up within the next two months or so. Lord Hokage still has given us the option however, to take the exams. It will only be you two though...are you willing to do that?"

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other. Sasuke spoke, "So...if we become Chuunin...we'll have the ability to lead a team, and run missions...correct?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, that's right, Sasuke."

Sakura's eyes widened, catching on to Sasuke's deeper meaning behind it.

_ We'll have the ability to lead a team and find Naruto..._

Sakura gave Sasuke a light smile, and he gave the slightest hint of one as well. Maybe she had misjudged the boy after all. She decided to postpone her nagging at getting a date with him, and decided becoming a better friend would be her best bet of accomplishing her goals. If they passed the exams, they would both be Chuunin, and maybe, just maybe, be able to look for Naruto.

Kakashi decided to add in the last detail of his message, "By the way, while the Hokage has declared Naruto missing in action, should they find any clues that show he has been conspiring against Konoha in some way, shape, or form, then he'll have to be declared a missing-nin...so, hopefully he has kept low profile and kept his nose clean."

Sakura and Sasuke both returned to facing their teacher, worry etched onto their faces. Kakashi, however, simply gave them a masked smile. The other two nodded; Naruto had a tendency to surprise everyone. He wouldn't be found by the tracking teams, and hopefully they would find him before things turned for the worse.

"Okay you two, today we're going to do some advanced training for the Chuunin exams. From here on out, we'll be training from six until four in the afternoon whenever we have a practice held, understood?" Kakashi explained, receiving two nods. They knew for a fact though that six o' clock in the morning would probably be eleven o' clock instead, "Now then, first lesson today will be how to walk on water. Follow me."

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Naruto sat on a bench in a small village somewhere southwest of Fire Country. He was pretty sure that the land was becoming much more arid, and the amount of trees in the area had greatly decreased since he managed to get a ferry to cross the island nation of Wave. Within a few hours time he had reached one of the southern ports of Fire Country. He was anxious to get to the border, and decided to hurry.

However, he hadn't gotten through the country with ease. Apparently, his absence was found out sooner than he would have liked. Several times he had to use a henge to avoid being noticed by ANBU that were searching for the blond. Just yesterday he had gotten through the border as a woman who was heading west to visit some relatives. The Chuunin patrolling the border apparently bought it, and luckily enough Naruto was able to find some makeup to cover his whisker marks. For a Genin, he was quite proud of that feat.

Now he was wandering from town to town, making money by doing odd jobs. Every night he would train under the moonlight, getting stronger and getting better at his chakra control. He noticed a significant build in his muscle mass in the short time, considering that he had been living off nothing but two meals at most everyday. Not to mention that he didn't find any ramen stands around the area. He was thus forced to eat healthier food, though he was merely concerned about satisfying his hunger at this point.

He slept wherever he could afford, be it a rundown motel room, a house of some sympathetic old couple, or the roof of a restaurant. Several times various bandits had tried to rob him, only to find themselves surrounded by half a dozen clones of the blond. He definitely was getting stronger, but was by no means a Jounin. Not yet anyway...

Naruto got up from the bench upon noticing the man who had hired Naruto to go to a nearby hot spring with a camera and take pictures for his 'research'. Naruto snorted at the explanation; the man was pervert, but he was also well off financially speaking. The establishments he had seen the man visited confirmed his belief; one of the restaurants he saw him walk into was easily a four star.

"Did you get the pictures?" the man asked. Naruto nodded and handed the old man his camera.

"Yeah, and I even managed to get some one of them having a splash fight. Just like you hoped for." Naruto said, and rolled his eyes upon seeing the man grin with a hint of drool. This guy would definitely not last against the Oiroke no Jutsu, let alone the Harem no Jutsu. The man claimed to be the Legendary Toad Sage, but Naruto remained firm in his pervert theory.

Jiraiya, as he had informed the boy to be his name, handed Naruto a wad of ryo notes, "Here's the 10,000 ryo I promised. You took quite a risk there, considering they actually have security guards around the facility. Women, of course, but still..."

Naruto had been smart enough not to give his name to the man, and after hearing that the man was a shinobi only further assured Naruto he had been smart not to.

"Thanks, Ero-sennin! Um...where did you say you were from again?"

Jiraiya immediately tensed up upon hearing the nickname, but then realized the boy was probably an orphan, considering the amount of dust and the condition of his clothes. However, something about the boy seemed vaguely familiar...why he didn't know though, "I'm from Konoha. I was trained by the Third Hokage himself, and am one of the legendary Sannin." the older male replied with a hint of pride. Naruto was about to explode with excitement, hearing that this man knew Hokage-jiisan, but held back knowing that would cause further trouble.

"Konohagakure? So you're a Leaf-nin?" he asked.

Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders, "You could say that. I'm still tied to the village, but I can come and go as I please, being that I'm one of the Sannin and all."

Naruto nodded, knowing that if he planned to make it to Wind Country, he'd have to leave before this man was able to memorize Naruto's facial details. If this man had been a ninja for as long as Naruto believed, he would be in for trouble if the man found out that Naruto was a runaway.

"Hey, kid, don't you have a family or house to go home to. I mean, not that it's my business, but aren't you out kind of late?"

Naruto frowned at the man. He may be a pervert, but he seemed okay. Well, at long as he didn't know that Naruto held the Kyuubi inside of him, "Um, no sir, I'm an orphan."

Jiraiya nodded, and with that being said, bit his thumb a smeared a thing trail of blood on a scroll that he pulled out of a pocket. Jiraiya summoned a suitcase. He gestured Naruto to open it, and when the boy did, he smiled to see a couple of pairs of outfits for the arid climate. Then Naruto made the mistake of accidentally sending the suitcase back to its scroll with a hand seal. Seconds later, Naruto realized his mistake, and noticed the silver haired man looking at him.

"Hmm...so, you can control you chakra, eh?" Jiraiya said with an amused tone. Naruto laughed nervously.

"Ye-yeah...um, I was in Konoha for awhile and a retired Jounin I meet taught me a little about it. I kind of just learned on from there by reading anything I could find. You know...just in case I needed it." Naruto said, smiling inwardly at his lie.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, but then smiled, "Well, consider the suitcase yours. Those clothes are light and should be alot better than those orange pants and t-shirt your wearing for this weather. I received them from a client for free, he said I could give them to my grandchildren. Seeing as I have none, and they don't fit me, you can have them." Jiraiya explained.

Naruto would have been wearing his jacket, if it wasn't for the fact that it had been ripped to shreds in a fight with some armed bandits. The substitution jutsu was necessary to save him from attack, but it had cost him his favorite article of clothing.

Naruto nodded, and was surprised to see the man pull out a piece of paper. Naruto eyed the paper, and looked to the man with mild curiosity.

"Apply a small amount of chakra to the paper here."

Naruto took the paper, and did as commanded. The paper ripped into a clean half, and Jiraiya smiled, "Well, a wind user...impressive. You're quite a rare gem to find around these parts." Jiraiya then dug into his pockets and took out two scrolls, "Here, I was saving these for selling to the next time I went to Konoha, but I think you earned them. One explains how to manipulate wind elements, and the other will explain how to apply wind to your jutsu, as well as showing how to do some basic techniques."

Naruto smiled, and refrained from hugging the man out of pure joy. He had only known the man for less than five hours, but he had already done more than most people did for Naruto in his entire life (aside from Iruka-sensei and the old man).

"Thank you, Ero-sennin...but...why?" Naruto asked, still not believing this.

Jiraiya smirked as he ruffled the boys hair, "Don't know...it's dangerous out there for a kid your age, figured you could use some help. That, and you kind of remind me of a student I once had."

Naruto's joy immediately changed to fear, oh great, he reminded this Jiraiya of someone, and considering that the Sannin was from Konoha, if he found out about Naruto's predicament, he'd be in deep trouble upon Jiraiya recognizing him.

"Well, I should be going. The sun's going to be rising in a few hours, and I need to get some sleep." Naruto said, and turned to run off.

Jiraiya would have offered to pay for hotel room for the boy, but he could tell the blond preferred doing things on his own, "Alright, kid. Be careful out there, and if you ever feel like becoming a ninja, consider going to Konoha. They're always welcome to train kids with your potential."

Naruto nodded, knowing full well that he would be an exception to that statement. Before running off, he stopped and called back to the Sannin, "Hey, if I keep going west, where will I end up?"

"Wind Country. They're also home to a shinobi village, Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand." Jiraiya replied.

Naruto gave another thank you before running off. Jiraiya hoped that the boy would be safe, he sure seemed like a decent kid. Almost reminded him of Minato...wait...

Jiraiya paused for a moment, "No...I didn't sense anything from the boy...and besides, Minato's son had whisker marks. That boy didn't..." Jiraiya watched as the boy turned down a street, and he laughed, "Well, regardless, I imagine I'll be hearing about the kid before I kick the bucket." With that, he jumped up to a rooftop, and headed eastward to Konoha. The old man decided to summon him for some reason about a ninja who recently graduated the academy that had gone missing. That, and the Chuunin exams were coming up. He didn't mind staying around for awhile, considering the Uchiha boy graduated his academy tests as well. It might be mildly entertaining to watch.

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It had been two days since Naruto had reached to what he hoped to be the desert surrounding Sunagakure. He managed to meet a Suna-Chuunin in a village yesterday who was patrolling the border that gave him general directions to take. Naruto was now low on water, and completely out of food. The sun however, remained a constant presence for Naruto. Luckily, Naruto had been smart and changed into a lighter outfit consisting of tan desert pants and a white t-shirt. He let his blurry vision scan ahead, and noticed some very large rock...or something in the distance. That was it, otherwise...

"Damn...Sennin...no village of sand...here..." Naruto collapsed into the sand, succumbing to the heat, ready to let the dunes swallow him up into the desert.

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Temari was currently on a break from patrolling the perimeter of Sunagakure. She was about to head into the village when she noticed something moving in the sands ahead. In another hour a sandstorm would be hitting the village. She cautiously stepped over to the lump of something in the sand, and realized it was body of a young boy.

"Hey!" she called out, and seeing as there was no reply, bent down next to the kid. She brushed away the layer of sand covering his face, and felt for a pulse. She sensed one, weak, but there. Upon noticing his face, she saw he had blond hair, and snapping open an eye, saw they were a beautiful deep cerulean. She also noticed faint whisker marks on him. He was probably about a year or two younger than her, but was easy on the eyes in her opinion.

She quickly hoisted the young boy onto her shoulders, and with a chakra boost ran towards the giant rocky structure that held Sunagakure inside its walls.

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Naruto felt what he believed to be water running down his forehead. He opened his eyes and saw a woman in a white uniform dabbing his forehead with a rag of cold water.

"Where...?"

The nurse gave the boy a smile, "You're in Sunagakure's hospital. From the looks of it, you were out for about a good three minutes before Temari-san found you lying unconscious in the desert outside our walls."

Naruto was about to speak when a knock at the door interrupted is thoughts. The nurse told the person to come in, and was greeted to the sight of a girl around Naruto's age with four ponytails and a light purple dress with a short skirt that would be typical of kunoichi in the desert. Upon seeing what he recognized as the headband of the Sand village, he confirmed that he truly had reached Suna. The kunoichi had what appeared to be a large fan on her back. She looked to the boy and smiled gently, then turned to the nurse, "So, how is he?"

The nurse bowed, "Temari-san, glad to see you're here. The boy seems fine, which is quite a surprise."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked the two.

Temari decided to answer, "Well, I happened to find you out in the middle of the soon-to-be sandstorm, lying unconscious in the sand. You would probably be dead if I hadn't found you."

Naruto's eyes widened upon realizing that this beautiful kunoichi had saved him from the heat of the desert, as well as from being suffocated by being covered in the fast moving sands. He nodded, "T-thank you."

Temari smiled, "It's fine, it's all in the duty of being a kunoichi of Suna. I have your bags in the room next door along with your scrolls."

Naruto's face paled a little; did she go through his stuff? Then she probably saw his Leaf headband!

Temari smiled, "Relax, I just noticed two scrolls hanging from a pocket in your bag, so I just placed them inside of the bag so they wouldn't get stolen. I noticed your a wind user of wind techniques..." she paused, and eyed up Naruto carefully, "Do you belong to a ninja village?"

Naruto shook his head, "No."

"Hmm." she put a hand on her chin, "What's your name?"

Ah, this he had no trouble with. He planned this one out the day after meeting Jiraiya, "Naro Uzaki." Sure, it was pathetically similar to his true name, but it was also so different that people wouldn't think twice of it.

The nurse left the room to let the two talk, and to go get a report filled out on 'Naro'. Upon the nurse's absence, Temari decided to take a seat next to the boy. He was indeed as handsome as she first thought, if not in a childish sort of way. Being the woman was and having the kind of lifestyle she lead, she really didn't get to 'date' handsome boys, considering they tried to avoid her due to her family's...problems.

Naruto noticed her looking at him, and he began to feel a little uncomfortable. Considering he was wearing a simple hospital gown, and the sheets were as thin as possible, he felt naked in front of her.

Temari decided to snap out of her wandering thoughts at the moment, and coughed nervously, "Um...yeah, my name's Temari. Anyway, so you don't belong to a village?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nope, I'm a wandering vagabond. I just happened to luck out and learn a little about jutsu from a retired Jounin during my travels."

Temari nodded, "You seem like someone capable of being a ninja..." her eyes suddenly lit up, "...yeah, say, I know. Maybe we could get you to become a Genin in Suna's shinobi forces. I mean, you do have the basics of chakra down, right?"

Naruto nodded. He did learn how to walk on water using chakra on his own before leaving Fire Country's borders, and already knew how to walk up trees. Still, he felt ties to Konoha, "A ninja? I...I don't know..."

"Oh come on, I'm sure you would be great. Consider it your way of repaying me for saving your life." she said in a sugar-coated tone. Truth is, Suna was in desperate need of shinobi, even a Genin like her was well aware of this. Not to mention he was _cute_.

"Well...okay...but don't say I didn't warn you. I'm not all that good at my chakra control, but I do have a lot of it according to what the Jounin told me." he replied.

"Good, then I'll see what Baki-sensei can do for you." Her voice gained a darker tone as she continued, "Hopefully the _Kazekage_ will be accepting of it."

Naruto cocked his head, "Is the Kazekage mean or something?" he asked, sensing her sudden change in tone.

"Heh, my dad's _never_ in a good mood, Kazekage or not." she said, then immediately wished she hadn't said a word, seeing Naruto's face.

"You're the Kazekage's daughter?!" he yelled.

Temari shrugged, "Yeah, but it hardly matters. He doesn't really talk to me or my two brothers...especially Gaara."

"Gaara?" Naruto repeated.

"Yeah; Gaara and Kankuro. They're my brothers, and pretty much the only real family I've got. Our family's been under a lot of...stress...these last couple of years..." Temari replied, a saddened adorning her face, which she immediately tried to hide, "But don't worry about that. Anyone who's a wind-user is welcome to Suna, and with me being one as well, I can help teach you some basic stuff."

The door suddenly opened to reveal a teenage boy in a black outfit with a hood that had two cat-like ears on the top. He wore face paint, and carried a bundle on his back that was wrapped in bandages.

"Oh, so the kid's awake, huh? I was wondering if he was dead or not." the boy nodded, receiving a glare from Temari.

"Naro, this is my older-younger brother Kankuro. He's a pain most of the time, but don't let it get to you." Temari said.

Naruto simply smiled to Kankuro, "Nice to meet you. I'm Naro Uzaki."

Kankuro immediately noticed the air of confidence the boy leaked out, and gave a smirk, "Same here. Temari says you were in the desert, waiting to be picked by the vultures."

"Kankuro..."

Naruto, however, laughed, "Heh, yeah. I was trying to find this village, believe it or not. I heard that it was the next closest place, and I was running low on money and food, and needed more water soon."

Kankuro gave a nod, and decided that perhaps he'd give the squirt a chance. He appeared to be around Gaara's age, but unlike Gaara, Naro wasn't trying to kill you for joking around, "Well, then welcome to Suna."

Temari decided to speak, "Kankuro, Naro's going to try and join the shinobi forces of Suna and become a Genin. He apparently can use jutsu, _and_ he's a wind user from what he's said."

_Now_ Kankuro was interested, "Really? A wind user like Temari and Baki-sensei?"

Naruto gave a shrug, and then slowly got up, only to be pushed back down by Temari, "No way, not until your cleared to go."

Naruto, despite being thankful to the kunoichi, was miffed that she was keeping him here. He slumped down into the sheets, and looked out the window.

Temari then had another idea, "Say...I know what we can do. How about tomorrow we have Baki-sensei see how well Naro stands against us in practice? That way, we can determine if he's suited as a Sand-nin or not."

Kankuro grimaced, "You think Gaara will like that?"

Temari sighed, "No...but it's worth a shot. I mean, Naro's got no family, and he may as well try to make a living here. Besides, Suna's not necessarily filled up on ninja as of now."

Kankuro nodded in agreement, "Fine, but I'll go tell Baki-sensei about it. Gaara seems to find you less bothersome than me." with that Kankuro turned to leave, "Nice meeting you Naro. Hopefully I'll see you again soon."

Temari looked a little stunned at this, and Naruto asked her what was wrong. She simply shook her head, "Kankuro's not usually that friendly with people who he doesn't know, especially those younger than him."

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After Temari left, Naruto waited impatiently to be cleared. At four o' clock he was greeted by Temari who gave him a key to a hotel, stating that he would be staying there tonight and that he should meet up with them tomorrow morning at nine in training ground seven. She also advised that he wear light material, claiming that fighting Gaara with unnecessary weight was a bad idea.

That night after Naruto ate some dinner, which was sadly not ramen, he went out to a training ground that was out of view of the village. He eventually found himself standing amongst a circle of boulders with a scroll explaining wind jutsu. Naruto was surprised to see how quickly he mastered drawing on the element's power, but still had no techniques under his belt in the offense or defense capable of taking on a shinobi in battle. If he was going to spar with Temari and the others, he needed something aside from the Shadow Clone Jutsu. He unrolled the scroll and read it.

"Hmm...I guess I could give it a go." he said, putting the scroll in his pocket and taking a stance while facing the largest boulder.

In all honesty, Naruto wasn't sure what would happen. He was trying to learn an offensive technique, but wasn't sure how powerful it would be. As far as he knew, wind techniques were best for battle, at least he remembered Temari saying that before she left the hospital. Naruto again turned his focus to his opponent, or in this case, boulder.

Naruto held out one palm, and let it face upwards while he concentrated on the slight tingle he felt run through his fingers as a light breeze blew by. It was faint, but enough to draw on.

Suddenly, the breeze picked up, and he noticed a vortex of sand pick up as the winds grew stronger around him. It was working! He continued focusing his chakra, and eventually curled all but his middle and index finger into his palm, continuing to point his two fingers upward. Now came the hard part...

Naruto focused on the wind-based chakra, and channeled it into his hand, and up into his finger tips. This required a maximum effort on his part, considering that with all the practice he put in while traveling, he still had only slightly below-average chakra control. After a minute of channeling the wind into his hands and two fingers, he saw what he had hoped for; a small, barely visible vortex of air spinning around his two finger tips. He remained focused on it as he pulled back his arm that held the miniature tornado of wind-chakra.

When Naruto felt that the vortex had reached its maximum velocity, he quickly swung his arm forward, and then swiped it back, yelling the words he learned, "_**Fuuton: Kiritori Kazehigyou no Jutsu**_!!"

The tornado became a thin, high speed blade of wind, and flew at the boulder in front of him, and right past the grounds until it eventually died down. Naruto panted, exhausted from the amount of strain he put into the technique to control it. He frowned upon not seeing any explosion from the boulder, and began to turn around to the village.

Then he heard a heavy scraping. He turned to see the top half of the boulder he attacked slowly slide off the bottom half, then fall with a dull thud as it hit the sand. He ran over to inspect his work, and felt a smooth surface where the cut went through. It was just like the scroll said should happen. Naruto smiled and shot a triumphant fist into the air. He felt very pleased with himself, seeing as he had pulled off a B-rank wind technique in his first try.

Things were starting to look up for him after all.

**end of chapter two: Hey everyone! Well, this is chapter two, in all it's glory. I appreciate the feedback of those who reviewed. I have decided on a few things thanks to some help from those who reviewed, but I won't let you know what I'll be doing. This chapter was exceptionally long on my part, but I like how it turned out I guess. Well, please leave a review, and I would appreciate more than an 'update soon'. I don't mind the short ones, but I want to seriously see what you think of my story. **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Denim88**


	3. Training and Hoping

**Disclaimer: If I did own Naruto, he would be wearing jean jacket over an orange shirt...because I like denim clothing. Unfortunately, I don't own the series...so I have to settle with Naruto in deer-hunting orange...which is okay.**

**Chapter Three: Training and Hoping**

That night, Sakura sat by her window. It was close to midnight, but sleep never came to her. She was too busy thinking about her still-missing teammate.

"Naruto...you don't just how much you meant to our team." she whispered, watching the stars twinkle.

A weak without Naruto proved to be the most uneventful week for her since she became a Genin. Well, no, she did do something today, so it was somewhat productive.

It was early morning, and the team had training at nine o' clock. Sakura was awake at seven though for some odd reason, she blamed it on how Kakashi had messed with her internal alarm clock by making her wake up super early, only to wait three hours for him to arrive. She got cleaned up a bit, then headed out to the training grounds to practice before the others arrived. Maybe she could do some kunai and shuriken throwing...she really wasn't sure.

She noticed the figure of Sasuke doing some taijutsu drills on a wooden post. He stopped upon noticing Sakura's presence.

"Hey, Sasuke." she greeted with a polite bow.

He gave a small smile, "Sakura, enough with the formalities. We're teammates, not student and teacher. Kakashi deserves that, okay?" he added the last part with a smirk almost.

"Kakashi-sensei deserves a daily wake up call involving an explosive tag." she muttered, recieving a chuckle from the Uchiha.

"Heh, I can almost agree to that." the dark haired boy added with a nod, then sat down to take a break, "You know, you're earlier than usual..."

"Heh, yeah..." she shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep?"

She nodded, "I swear, you must a telepath or something."

Sasuke shook his head, "No, I can just tell...besides, I couldn't either. Sensei's messing up with my daily routine lately."

Sakura then decided she should get a question that had been bugging her for the last couple days off her chest, "Um...Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"Do...you think that Naruto's okay?" she asked hesitantly, knowing full well how Sasuke felt about this whole predicament.

"Without a doubt." answered the Uchiha with no signs of uncertainty in his voice.

Sakura should have expected that. She herself knew that Naruto was too good at survival to get killed by some bandit or theif. After hearing from Kakashi about just how much the boy had gone through, she was certain her opinion for the boy had done a complete one-eighty. She felt a sense of wanting to help him become stronger, a sense of caring for him she didn't realize. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew it was a good feeling.

Regardless though, she still had a bad feeling...she couldn't shake. Call it an ominous feeling that she felt like something was going to happen to Team Seven and herself in the not too distant future.

"Sakura," Sasuke spoke, snapping the pink-haired girl out of her thoughts, "How's your taijutsu coming along?"

"Um...okay I guess..." she replied with a shrug.

"Want some help?"

She gave the boy a look of surprise, but smiled, "Yeah, I would appreciate that."

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An hour later, the two were sitting against the posts, breathing heavily.

"Heh, you've gotten alot better, Sakura. That right hook of yours caught me off guard." Sasuke said while nurturing his left jaw.

"That's only because you didn't have your Sharingan activa-"

"Doesn't matter, Sakura. You're improving by alot. I'm sure the Chunin exams will be a piece of cake for us...well, at least we'll have a good chance of passing."

"Thanks, Sasuke."

As the two continued to wait for their chronically late sensei, Sakura couldn't shake that feeling she had earlier. However, she felt that whatever it was, she would take it head on.

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Sakura now sat in her bed and rubbed her temples. She looked at her clock and sighed. It was going onto a quarter after one, and she was still not sleepy. Kakashi decided to try and put more effort into genjutsu training with Sakura, seeing as she was already intelligent enough for the basics casting illusions. Well, she had no real genjutsu techniques, but she was willing to learn a few.

She turned to the moon outside, it was beautiful. Hopefully, if Naruto was using the night to travel, he would be able to use its light to guide him. She really hated to admit it, but she was starting to feel confused emotions towards the blonde. She had already stopped denying that the idiot was important to her just like Sasuke was...their team had become a small family in her eyes. Now the family was missing a little brother of theirs.

She walked across her room and picked up the picture of Team Seven, and sighed as she plopped down into her bed. Kakashi had either of his hands ruffling Sasuke and Naruto's hair with a grin behind his mask. Sasuke had his calm, expressionless look upon his face, while Sakura was beaming with a smile between her two Genin teammates. Then she turned to the blonde haired boy that was grinding his teeth together out of annoyance towards Kakashi's antics.

"Naruto..." she said as she felt the sting of tears. Why didn't she feel this way towards him before. She practically hated how the kid was weeks ago.

She cared about him...okay, she really cared about him...not in a romantic way...at least, she didn't think so. Regardless, the blonde held a significant portion of her thoughts since they departed from Wave Country. She got out of her bed after another glance at the picture, then set it back on the shelf. After laying down in her bed again, and pulling the sheets close, she let a few silent tears fall. She was trying to be strong, she really was...and it hurt her to not cry.

"He better comeback, or I'll end up looking for him myself after the exams myself." she mumbled as she drifted off into a troubled sleep for the second time this week.

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Naruto tossed and turned in his bed, experiencing what he believed to be the most realistic dream...correction, nightmare, he had ever had.

Naruto was walking through what must have been a sewer...and as he would expect, it was dim and hardly any light was present except for an almost eerie glow from what looked like the sewer itself. All the while he heard a deep, rumbling growl.

He eventually found himself standing before a giant cage in some isolated room. On the two doors of the cage was a paper that read 'seal' on it. It almost seemed to be there to hold the doors in place...but why?

Naruto jumped when the growling he heard earlier was louder than ever, and seemed to be from the interior of the cage. Naruto instinctively reached for a kunai.

**"Heh heh heh...is **_**this**_** my container? How utterly pathetic..." came a deafening, yet well articulated voice.**

"Who's there? What do you want?" Naruto called into the cell, and immediately regretted it.

A bright, red light flared up, and two large, slitted pupils and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth approached the cage. The face seemed to resemble upon closer inspection that of a...fox?

**"What do **_**I**_** want?"** the creature laughed diabolically, **"What do **_**you**_** want, stupid boy? Or have you simply come, offering yourself to me so that I may feast upon your marrow?"** the fox retorted with a menacing grin, letting the saliva on his fangs drip a little.

Naruto paled, now realizing just what he was looking at. That then made him turn from fear to anger, "You're the demon fox, the Kyuubi!!" Naruto yelled, taking a step closer to the cage and pointing at the monstrous Bijuu.

Naruto barely had time to react when a giant set of claws lunged at him from between the bars, missing him by an inch.

**"Curse this seal...I can't even enjoy a small snack like you." **the Kyuubi growled, drawing his claws back into the darkness of his prison.

Naruto was furious, now facing the cause of all his years of hatred and pain from the village. All of it because of this damn fox.

"You...you're why I was hated so much..." his tone of voice was darker than usual. He began to form a small ball of wind in his hands, and let it spiral around his two fingers, "You...you're my curse! I go through twelve years of hell because of you!!! Then, when I just may have had a chance to make some friends, you rear your ugly head and...change me into...into...something I'm not!!! Darn you, you stupid fox!! Eat this! Wind Release: Severing Wind Strike!!!!"

The blade like wind flew at the Kyuubi, and hit the demon fox square in the face. However, he merely chuckled in amusement at the now panting boy.

**"Hehe...HAHAAHAAA!" **he leered at the boy, and moved up close to the cage, a snarling grin on his face, and Naruto could clearly see the fur of the demon before him now, even though he was far enough from the cage, **"You think your little summer breeze can possibly harm me?!"** the fox snickered, **"I'm the Kitsune no Yoko, Lord of the Nine Tails! You think that a mere mortal like you could kill **_**me**_**? Think again, brat!!!" **it boomed, **"Weakling...I'm suprised that a human with your strength hadn't been killed sooner in that dispicable village."**

From the angered look on Naruto's face, the Kyuubi could tell that he had gotten the point across. Yes, Kyuubi did enjoy destroying the self-esteem of his container, and would try to do it as often as possible. However, he did this also to make sure the boy got stronger. If the Nine-tailed fox planned on living long enough to break free of the seal when he saw the chance, then he needed his container to be powerful enough to stay alive in the meantime.

Kyuubi looked down upon the ninja with just a shadow of understanding and pity, mainly since the pathetic creature had such little strength in comparison, and the boy had been beaten by his own kind...which the Kyuubi found utterly ridiculous, considering that this human was the only thing between the Hidden Leaf and total destruction.

**"Listen, brat, from here on out, you and are a team. If either of us dies, then we're both dead, got it? Here's the deal: I'll lend you my chakra when needed, and you in turn keep your body from mortal harm and getting killed."**

Naruto looked up, "_Your_ power? No way! That chakra is anything but good for me! I lost control of my self for a second back in the battle at the Land of Waves!"

Kyuubi smirked, **"That, my dear mortal Jinchuuriki, was less than one-ninth of what you could unlock...even though my power is infinite in a sense. You have no idea just how powerful I truly am."** the demon fox noticed the boy looked unconvinced still, **"Look, brat, I plan on living, and I'm sure you do too. You may be stronger than most of those your age...but I can guarantee that there will be a time when you will run into an opponent that will be too much for you to handle with your powers alone. I will be able to give you that extra edge in the battle, and you know that power is quite...potent..."**

Naruto put a hand under his chin, then gave the proposal a moment of thought, "Fine, don't think this makes us friends though."

The Kyuubi laughed dryly, **"Believe me, I would rather devour you anyday than do this. However, my current conditions seem to prevent that. Now, leave before I decide to give you a migraine."**

Naruto left the chamber, and then awoke to the early morning light. He turned to his sidetable by the hotel bed to see a note.

_Naro-_

_Baki-sensei said he wants to see your skills in battle today, so please remember to meet us at training ground seven at nine o' clock sharp, and no later. You'll be up against Kankuro, Gaara, and myself, but we'll try not to beat you up too much, okay? See you then!_

_p.s- this fruit was fresh from the market this morning, I hope you enjoy it._

_Temari_

Naruto slowly got up out of the bed, and looked at his alarm clock, which read a quarter to eight. He smiled, and picked up a melon of some sort fromt the basket next to the note that the Sand kunoichi left. He felt...almost...happy about having meet Temari. She sure seemed to carry herself around in an assertive matter...but if he recalled correctly, so did Sakura from time to time. Perhaps he was a glutton for aggressive woman...he did like the idea of fighting a girl who could very well beat the snot out of you though, only to then apologize and treat your injuries.

Naruto looked out the window, and saw a small cloud of sand fly past. He then recalled Temari saying to dress light, something about fighting against Gaara on sand with extra weight was a stupid idea. He noticed an assorted bunch of piles of clothing at the foot of his bed that he had lay out from his purchases he made while traveling. He then noticed a dark, rustic brown cloth on top of the pile, perfect for hiding the face while not keeping in too much heat. He looked back out to the sand, and flinched a little as it seemed to pick up speed.

"Better wear a mask." he said as he got out of his bed.

**End of Chapter Three- Hey everyone, finally updated! I'll be honest, I'm only one chapter ahead of where I am on here, but that's only in the writing aspect. I got all the ideas in my head here, I just got to find a way to get them onto the paper. The next chapter will probably be awhile, so bear with me. I promise it won't be too long, okay? In the meantime, tell me what you think. I really am glad I got this idea going into something, and plan to make it only better! Well, until we meet again, later! **


	4. Gaara of the Sand

**Disclaimer: I don't speak Japanese, unfortunately, so I don't have any proof of owning Naruto, since I can't decipher the language. Luckily, there's a wonderful thing called sub-titles...and Cartoon Network. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. **

**Chapter Four: Gaara of the Sand**

It was eight thirty when Naruto had arrived to the training grounds that he was told to go to. When he got there, he found Kankuro along with two others he didn't know. One was dressed in the traditional clothing of Jonin in Suna, and was probably Baki from what Temari had said the day before. However, the man had one major feature that made him stand out, he wore a veil covering the left portion of his face. Naruto then looked towards the boy with red hair and wore black clothing. Along with that, he seemed to be carrying a large gourd of some sort, and had it strapped to his back. On his forehead on the upper left side was the word 'love', which looked to be tatooed...or carved??? Temari, however, was nowhere to be seen.

The Jonin was the first to notice Naruto, "You must be Naro. Temari told me about you," the Jonin gave him a curt nod, "I'm Baki, the sensei of this Genin squad."

Naruto gave him a smile, "Pleased to meet you Baki-sensei. Yes, I'm Naro Uzaki, and Temari and Kankuro invited me to join your team for practice today. She said something about it helping determine if I'm fit to be a Suna-nin."

Baki gave him a smile, "Yes, that's correct. You seem to be physically built for a shinobi, but I'll have to assess your actual skill in battle first. If you pass this test, I can probably get you a rank as a Genin of the Hidden Sand."

Naruto nodded, then walked over to the boy who he assumed to be Gaara, Temari and Kankuro's younger brother. He was about to speak when Gaara turned his head to face the boy, "Are you Naro Uzaki?"

Naruto was taken back by how cold his voice was, "Yeah, I'm him." Something about this guy unnerved him. Naruto couldn't help but see how his eyes reminded Naruto of things he would rather forget.

_'Those eyes...they remind me of when I was young...why though?'_

"Hmmph.' was all Gaara said in reply. He then walked away, leaving Naruto in a confused state.

"Don't mind him, he's...not really friendly with anyone." came Kankuro's voice after Gaara was out of earshot.

Fifteen minutes later, Temari showed up with her fan strapped to her back. She cracked her neck, then spoke to Baki and Kankuro, "Ugh, is Naro here?"

"Hey Temari-chan, I'm right here!" Naruto called to the kunoichi.

Temari took a second to look at Naruto, and then spoke, "What are you wearing?"

Naruto only gave her a grin behind his rustic brown mask-cloth. He also decided to adorn a light, tan colored vest over a black t-shirt with his orange spiral design on it. His pants were of a tan-colored tone as well, only darker than his vest. He finished his look by wrapping a bandana around his head, covering up all but a few stary bangs of hair. Naruto wouldn't admit this, but he really didn't want anyone to risk noticing him, even if this was Sunagakure. All that was visible on his face were his blue eyes, nothing else.

Naruto gave her a shrug, "I don't want any sand getting in my hair I guess."

Temari didn't show anything on the outside, but she was dissapointed that the blonde decided to hide his face behind a mask. She was looking forward to seeing it in all honesty. Oh well, she'd just blow off his mask in today's training.

"Well, Naro, if you like, we'll begin this little test of yours right away." Baki said, turning to the three Sand siblings, "Okay you three, you remember what I said; don't go too far with this fight, but make it good so I can decide where Naro stands as a potential shinobi. Gaara, you know what I said about using your sand..." Gaara merely muttered something, and the three, well, _technically_ four Genin faced each other, waiting for the Jonin's signal.

"Begin." Baki said, and the four jumped off in different directions.

Naruto quietly sat behind a boulder, trying to hid his chakra level from the others. Yes, he had gotten better at control, and his stealth was nothing to scoff at, but he was out in a desert with little more than rocks to hide behind. Now, if it were a forest, that would be a different story.

A sound of something whizzing through the air caught the attention of the masked blonde. Naruto looked to quickly see two kunai fly at him from out of nowhere. He rolled away, and got up, letting out a sigh of relief, seeing as the kunai had imbedded into the rock where he had sat by only seconds earlier. However, he suddenly noticed something...kunai didn't naturally smell like smoke.

"GAHH!" Naruto jumped away in time to avoid an explosion, and covered his eyes as gravel flew through the air. He flipped through the air in a backflip like fashion as another set of bomb kunai flew to his direction. While in midair, he noticed a set of shuriken flying at him. Naruto pulled out some shuriken of his own and threw them at the weapons, and the sound of metal could be heard. He twisted his body sideways in the air, and avoided the remaining shuriken assault.

His rest was short lived as he landed, and felt a wind pick up ever so slightly. He only sensed it due to his wind training over the past couple of days. He knew that this wind wasn't natural...

"Wind Scythes Jutsu!" came the powerful battle cry of Temari. Naruto looked to see a whirlwind of _very_ dangerous speed approaching him. His instincts and limited knowledge in wind jutsu told him running would be pointless as of the moment, considering how close he was to the attack.

"Not good!" Naruto thought, but then an idea popped into his mind. He quickly focused some chakra into his hands and feet. He was pulling this idea out of thin air; he knew that he would be in deep trouble if his idea failed.

He began to spin around until he himself became ingulfed in a miniature vortex of wind. He spun into Temari's attack, and much to everyone's surprise, managed to stop it. His only signs of damage were a gash on his arm, and a few cuts on his clothes.

Naruto stopped spinning, and he quickly grabbed his head and tried to recover his balance. His defensive technique seemed to work, but it would need work if he planned on actually using it again in the future. Plus, he would need to find out how keep himself from getting so dizzy next time.

Temari looked at the blonde boy, and her mouth hung ajar a little, "Did he just stop my Wind Scythes?" She was certain that Kankuro's barrage of ninja weapons from Crow would prove to be enough to catch him off guard...

Naruto smiled behind his mask, turning to face the kunoichi, "Hehe, sorry, Temari-chan, but I won that round. That attack of yours is pretty cool though." he stated.

Temari's face flushed with embarassment, both from having been outdone by a mere rookie wind-user, and the fact that he added the affectionate suffix to her name. She decided to let her pride get the best of her. She would _not _be outdone by this kid, regardless of how cute he was, "That's it, Wind Style: Maximum Wind Velocity!!!"

She blew her fan, and the wind she whipped up lifted up rocks of dangerously large size. She didn't plan on killing the kid; she merely wished to put him in place.

Naruto saw a few rocks flying at him as he was lifted up into the air. He knew that he would be done for...unless, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Kankuro stood beside Temari, waiting for Naruto's inevitable defeat. He saw that the kid had talent, heck, he never saw a kid of his age have that much flexibility in the air while on defense. However, Temari was not one to take lightly. Challenging his older sister's pride was a very idiotic idea, and he was pretty sure Naruto's last comment about her Wind Scythes had set this situation off.

"Well, that's that... though I think that is what Baki-sensei encouraged us _not _to do to Naro, Temari." Kakuro said as he began to put Crow away. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of rocks breaking.

"What??" cried Temari, "He can use _that many_ _Shadow Clones_??"

Kankuro turned to see a rather interesting sight. Inside the windstom were at least twenty Naruto's, smashing up rocks with their fists and feet. Kankuro let a smirk spread across his face, "Well, well, this kid's definitely got a few tricks up his sleeves." Kankuro stopped wrapping up Crow, and proceeded to unravel the bandages of his battle puppet again.

Baki watched from a distance, giving a small smile to the the newcomer. He definitely could fight...almost a bit too well for some wandering orphan. He would adress that later, but for now, he decided that he would continue to watch. If the kid was able to dodge Crow's attacks, negate Temari's Winds Scythes, and avoid damage while in a wind storm, he was almost guaranteed a position in Sunagakure's shinobi ranks.

Naruto eventually landed, heaving in air as the wind died down. He dispelled his clones, and gavet the kunoichi a triumphant grin, "Whoa, that was close!!!"

Temari was dumbstruck, Naro had amazing evasion skills. He definitely was of Genin level...which raised a question to her. How did an orphan like him end up such a good combatant? Aside from a few scratches and a nasty gash on his arm...oh no...blood!

Gaara had so far done nothing, merely waiting to see if this 'Naro' was even worth his time. He proved to be a decent fighter, even though he was mostly on the defense this whole time. However, something about the newcomer irked Gaara in a way deeper than normal...something deep within the boy seemed to just be flashing a light in front of Gaara, but the red haired boy just couldn't put his finger on it. Whatever the case, he wouldn't waste his time unless he saw this Naro as a worthy opponent...until he saw the blood...

...the deep gash on Naruto's arm seemed to cause the sand in Gaara's gourd to rumble. He suddenly felt the need to shed blood...Naro Uzaki's blood. This boy, for some reason, would definitely be worth killing...

...that's what the voice inside of him said at least...

Gaara put a hand over his left eye, and cried out in pain, feeling the beast within him try to take control.

**"We will truly feel alive by spilling this boy's blood! **

Gaara fell on his knees, and continued to groan and cry out in pain. That blood was too much!

**"Kill him!!!"**

Gaara smiled maniacally, and uncorked his gourd.

Yes, Naro Uzaki would truly make make him feel alive!

Naruto looked over to the boy named Gaara kneeling, what almost seemed to be in pain.

"Hey...um...you okay?" Naruto called to the boy.

Gaara began laughing, and Naruto felt a surge of killer intent unleash from the boy. Not like the intent Zabuza Momoichi unleashed...oh no...this kind almost felt...unhuman.

Gaara continued laughing as he looked up, and spoke very threatening, but almost gleeful tone, "Yes...killing you will truly prove my existance!!!"

Naruto barely had time to react as a giant hand of sand launched itself at Naruto. This guy seemed to be trying to kill him, and from what it souned like, he was trying to do so! Now Naruto understood why Temari said to wear light clothing!

Gaara, however, managed to get a hold of the boy's foot in mid-air, and slammed him into the ground. Naruto gasped as he felt his breath hitch, but quickly got up and focused some chakra into his hands. Gaara sent another wave of sand to Naruto, intending to crush him.

"Wind Release: Severing Wind Strike!" Naruto yelled, and watched as the wall of sand crumbled.

However, just as Naruto was about to move, another giant wall rose up from behind him, and the blonde had no time to react.

Naruto braced for the impact...but it never came. A strong gust of wind blew the wall down, and Temari landed in front of Naruto.

"Gaara...please...stop this! Naro isn't doing anything-"

Gaara stared at his eldest sibling who had interrupted his fun, "Get out of my way, Temari..."

"Naro's not an enemy! He just-"

Gaara gave her a cold glare before sending a wave of sand to grab a hold of the blonde-haired kunoichi, "So, you want to die too?" She was soon trapped in a cocoon of sand, "Sand Coffin..."

Kankuro stood in horror, what was happening? He was about to go and try and stop Gaara when a strong hand held him back, "Kankuro, stop..."

Kankuro looked to see Baki reluctantly holding him back. Kankuro growled in anger, "Temari's going to get killed out there!"

"I'm aware of this...but we'll only be casualties if we get involved...but you notice that Gaara's hesitating...he's had at least a minute to crush her...perhaps he's reluctant." Baki replied, trying to see if he himself would be able to find an opening, but then reminded himself that Gaara's sand would automatically protect him. It was useless to attack the boy. Two more words and a clenching fist was all Gaara needed to kill his sister...

Naruto watched as Gaara lifted his sister into the air. What was this guy's problem? He had no reason...no he had no_ right_ to do this! This was his sister for crying out loud! Not to mention that Temari had been one of the first people to be nice to Naruto since he arrived to Suna. Sure, she was just being nice to him because he was new, but he felt some sort of connection with the girl. He would _not_ let another friend be in danger. Sasuke had been luck with Haku...but Temari didn't seem to be as lucky.

Naruto felt a surge of anger grow...and soon that familiar blood lust re-surfaced. Naruto quickly vanished from sight.

Temari was going to die if he didn't do something. She was going to...die!!!

Gaara was about to crush Temari when he felt something fast connect to his stomach. What? He had been...hurt? With no time to react, another...fist...collided with his jaw, and sent him flying. A fist?

Temari fell from the Sand Coffin, and was passed out from the lack of air. However, she was still breathing...

Gaara got up from the ground, and was met by two blazing, red eyes, only inches from his face. Naruto let out a growl as he leered at Gaara, and spoke with venom in his voice.

"Hey..._jerk_...I thought _I_ was your opponent!"

**end of Chapter Four: Oh yeah! Let the fight begin! Heh heh, I already got the next chapter done, and I did it in a most interesting way. I put on my headphones and listened to Three Days Grace 'Animal I Have Become' to help me picture the scene for the next chapter. So, yeah, Chapter Five should prove to be quite interesting. Well, let me know what you think, and yes, the next chapter will be longer than this one! Well, keep reading and I'll keep updating...but not too fast, lol.**


	5. Between Jinchuuriki

**Disclaimer: Why, disclaimer, why?! Why do you mock me so?! I don't own Naruto...**

**Chapter Five: Between Jinchuuriki**

Temari stared wide eyed as she began to awaken from her unconscious state. Baki, Kankuro, and herself were now behind a group of boulders, not moving an inch, possibly out of fear of what may happen to them if either of the two combatants noticed them.

"Temari, are you okay?" came the voice of Kankuro. She turned to her brother and nodded. Kankuro then looked back to the battleground, watching the two fighters stare each other down, "Naro just did the impossible..." the puppet master added quietly.

Baki nodded in agreement while Temari looked at the two with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, "What?"

Kankuro felt a few beads of sweat run down his neck as he felt the two immense chakras spark to life in the training grounds ahead of them, "You're not going to believe me if I tell you..."

"What?" Temari repeated, suddenly gathering her strength to stand.

"Naro...injured Gaara. He actually knocked Gaara a few yards and made him bounce a bit. It seemed like blondie was trying to protect you. He probably saved your life from Gaara's Sand Burial..." Kankuro finished.

Temari was quiet all of the sudden. She let a gasp escape her throat as she looked ahead. The boy known as Naro was crouched in an animalistic stance, his eyes were wild-looking. What scared her the most was his the wave of bloodlust coming off him...it didn't feel natural...

"What is that kid?" Kankuro asked.

"I think I know...I can't think of anything that could have such a deadly chakra beside it..." Baki replied, clenching a fist. He hoped he wasn't right, "That boy may be a Jinchuuriki as well as Gaara...I can only hope that I'm wrong though."

The two siblings snapped back and looked at the older man with dumbstruck looks, "What?!" they both yelled in unison.

Baki didn't let his eyesight leave the two boys ahead of him, "Well, tell me what else could hold such an evil chakra aside from a Bijuu? It only sounds logical..." The two Genin nodded, and turned to face the battle that was soon to start, fearing the worst might happen if they looked away.

Naruto was standing before Gaara, ready to move at a moment's notice. Gaara was doing something weird with his sand, and soon found about half of his body transformed into something completely different. He sprouted a claw-like appendage, and a very long tail of some sort. Naruto grimaced as he noticed Gaara's chakra level spike up.

Gaara laughed as the sand completed his first transformation. The left side of his face was now resembling more of a beast of some sort than a human. His face didn't remove that evil grin the whole time either. Yes...Naro Uzaki will die, and Gaara will prove his power and hatred with the boy's death.

Naruto couldn't help but see something withing Gaara's eyes though. They seemed to show...pain, and anger. This guy...he reminded Naruto alot of himself all of the sudden.

"He's...just like me." Naruto spoke as he felt his claws lengthen and his canines sharpen.

**"That's because he's a Jinchuuriki as well, brat."** came a voice from within Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened, "He's a demon container too?" he asked the Kyuubi.

**"The Jinchuuriki of the One-tailed Shukaku. I would know, me and his Bijuu have somewhat of a...history...if you would call it, with each other." **Kyuubi replied.

"Just how much trouble are we in?" Naruto asked, seeing as the Kyuubi knew more about Gaara than Naruto did.

The demon-fox snorted, **"Little, if any, as long as you keep on your toes and find away around his sand protection...however, if he fully awakens the Shukaku...then you may have to kick up things."**

Naruto nodded, threw off his scarf-mask, and clapped his hands together as he gathered more chakra. The sand began to pick up as it spun around the two.

"You are quite powerful. I haven't had this much fun killing an opponent in a long time." Gaara grinned, drool coming down his chin as he spoke.

Naruto took no time as he literally burst into the air, forming a ram seal as he did so, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Five Naruto were now visible as they came flying down at Gaara. The Shukaku container simply blocked them with a brush of his tail.

Naruto crashed into the ground, but quickly flipped upright thanks to his heightened reflexes. He crouched down again, and eyed his opponent. He clenched his stomach, feeling the pain from Gaara's impact, "That hurt." He quickly pushed off, and began to run while being chased by a rampagin claw of sand.

'I need more speed..." Naruto thought, and began to apply his wind chakra to his feet. Naruto dissapeared from sight, and Gaara growled in frustration as his opponent managed to suddenly run out his line of vision.

Gaara didn't have long to wait though, for the ground below him erupted as a giant blast of wind knocked Gaara into the air. As the red-haired boy continued his ascent, Naruto could be seen with both palms thrust forward, revealing small wind-like energy waves dissapearing from view. Without a moment to rest, Naruto jumped into the air, again dissapearing from view.

The blonde reappeared right above Gaara, who was now falling back down to Earth. Naruto cocked back a fist, and red chakra could be seen igniting into his now deadly weapon, focused on Naruto's clenched hand.

Temari and the others watched as Gaara rocketed to the sand below at unnatural speed, causing a shockwave of sand to fly past the three spectators.

"Geez! No one has ever given Gaara this much of a fight!" Kankuro yelled over the explosion, shielding his face from the sand.

Baki said nothing, but he definitely could feel a significant difference in Naruto's chakra. Where was this boy getting all this power from? As the dust settled, he looked to see the blonde in question walking over to a newly formed crater.

Naruto stood over the form Gaara, who was wincing in a state of unimaginable pain. Suddenly, the Sand Genin crumbled into sand.

"No, Substitution!"

Gaara jumped out of the sand behind Naruto, "Fool!" he cried, and slammed his clawed arm into the blonde, sending Naruto careening into yet another boulder.

"Naro!" Temari called out, but was held back by Baki. She looked to see him shake his head. He was right, this fight was beyond them now.

All of the sudden, Temari noticed a red light glowing from within the wreckage caused by Naro's impact. The light erupted, sending debris everywhere. Behind the dust could be seen the form of Naro, a single tail waving behind him. It seemed to be made of pure chakra, Temari noticed.

"Now I'm _mad_!!!" Naruto roared, his voice seemingly less like before, replaced with a slightly venomous tone of the boy. It still sounded like him, but not quite as much.

Gaara smirked as she sent a wave of sand to the boy. He was surprised however to see a red claw break through his attack, and grab hold of him. Naruto lifted his hand, and the claw did likewise. Naruto then pounded into the ground with his physical hand, and the the chakra appendage followed suit, bringing Gaara with.

Naruto quickly called his claw back to his aura of chakra as he went into a feral like stance, scanning the dust with his crimson irises. He could smell the fear from the three shinobi to his far left, but he had no intention of harming them. Oh no, he wanted to find and pound this punk Gaara into the ground again.

A laughter could be heard from all around him, and he couldn't help but be reminded of Zabuza and his Hidden Mist Jutsu as he tried to look through the cloud of sand, "You're powerful, truly powerful! However, your hate is weaker than mine, Naro Uzaki! _Die!_" Naruto turned to see shuriken of some sort slice into his arms as he raised them up to defend himself. They seemed to be made of sand. He hissed in pain, but otherwise paid no mind as he noticed the skin already healing itself. He wouldn't deny that he liked that ability.

Naruto quickly dashed off to his right, and applied wind chakra to his feet again. After a second or two, he was finding himself running on nothing but air, much to his surprise. Naruto found himself coming to a beast, not the boy he remembered fighting a minute ago. However, upon further inspection, Naruto noticed that Gaara's feet were still visible. The Shukaku wasn't awakened...yet.

Naruto sent a wave of high-powered wind by thrusting a palm forward, and was shocked to see Gaara only inhale it with some strange power involving numerous mouths opening up and sucking in the wind. Naruto then realized the mistake he made as Gaara further expanded his beast-like body, "Wind Style: Infinite Wind Devastation!"

Naruto quickly jumped up, narrowly avoiding the attack, "Damn, he's gotten even stronger!" the blonde noted as he began to backflip, avoiding another onslaught of sand shuriken.

Naruto put his hands into the familiar seal, "Mass Shadow Replication Jutsu!" and one hundred clones with Kyuubi-powered auras around them appeared. Naruto was breathing heavily; if not for the Kyuubi, he may not have been able to pull that off.

The hundred and one Naruto's all sent another wave of wind towards Gaara, who was unable to avoid the damage this time. The Suna-nin was sent back a long distance, and growled as he got up, "Heh heh, yes give me more! More!! This will make your death only further prove my worth and existence!!"

A swish of Gaara's tail took out half of the Naruto clones, and Naruto, who was staggering on the unstable sand as he felt the clones' thoughts flood his mind, looked forward, "That's what you believe is your reason for living?! How can you possibly say that?!"

Gaara gave a menacing grin, "A person can only be truly strong by living and fighting only for themselves. I love for myself and fight only for myself. That is how I am truly strong."

Naruto found himself angered by the statment of his opponent, "You're wrong! A person is truly strong when they fight for those who are important to them, and protect them as well!"

Gaara replied with yet another laugh, "Then let us see who is truly stronger! I will show you how wrong you are when I paint this desert with your blood!" screamed Gaara, and he sent his claws to Naruto.

However, Naruto and his clones had planned for this, and they quickly grabbed a hold of both of Gaara's arms, "Now!"

Gaara felt himself being yanked forward. The next thing he saw was about ten feet smash into his stomach. As he reeled back, another set of fists to the jaw sent him into the air yet again. Gaara forced open an eye an eye, only to see about fifty clones of Naruto appear above him. One solid impact sent Gaara downwards. However, instead of crashing into the ground, he felt what appeared to be a pair of shoulders crash into his back, sending Gaara jolts of pain throughout his entire body.

Naruto squatted underneath the weight of Gaara as he dispersed his clones. He felt the ragged breaths of Gaara, and tossed the Shukaku's container to the ground like a sac of discarded produce.

Gaara looked up at the now kneeling figure of Naruto, "No...this won't end with me dying! I will not cease to exist!!"

A rumbling could be felt from miles around. Baki turned behind him to see at least one hundred or more Suna-nin watching at the village gates, aware of the cause of the sudden disturbance.

"Looks like we have an audience now." Baki murmered, turning to continue watching the two titans.

Temari, however, was trembling, feeling a much unwanted feeling in her core, "Oh no...he's not calling on..._it_...is he?"

Naruto was sent into the air, and smacked into a rock, but quickly got up, igninting his chakra again, tail waving in anticipation as he felt this even more vicious power surfacing from Gaara. He looked up into the dust clouds, and for a moment, couldn't move as he saw two sets of glowing eyes appear from the screen of dust.

'Um...Kyuubi...I think he awakened the Shukaku..." Naruto gulped as he crouched into his stance, staring into the eyes of Shukaku.

**5555555**

Sasuke got up from his table as he heard a knock at the door. He opened it to reveal a pink-haired girl, "Sakura?"

"Hey, Sasuke." she replied, giving the boy a smile.

"What brings you here? Something wrong?" Sasuke asked, still not sure why his teammate decided to visit the eerie confines of the Uchiha compound. They didn't have any training this morning, and wouldn't have to be at the training grounds until four (five thirty, considering Kakashi's knack for punctuality).

"Well, Kakashi-sensei told me to come here to let you know that training's been cancelled for the day. We do, however, have a D-rank mission tomorrow at noon with helping deliver animal supplies to the Inuzuka veterinary clinic though. We'll be meeting him at the bridge as usual." she replied.

"Oh, okay then."

Sakura and Sasuke then stood there for awhile, neither really sure what to say. Then, after a minute of shuffling her feet, Sakura spoke, "Um...do you still want to spar with me for maybe an hour? I have nothing better to do today..."

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts, "Yeah, I guess that would be fine. Just don't expect me to go easy on you though. Let's go into the training ground behind my house. We can spar there." he said with a hint of a smile.

"Sasuke, going easy on me? Like that would ever happen." she joked as she followed him. Little did she know, but she was probably the first woman to ever enter this place for quite a few years.

Eventually they were in a small clearing with various posts and dummies lining the area. Sakura noted a few areas where the ground appeared to have been caught in a fire. The two stood on either side of the grounds, going into their respective stances.

"Are you ready, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, shifting his footing a little. He was happy to see Sakura taking on a serious expression, and she nodded. Sakura was taking training more serious these past couple of days.

Sasuke wasted no time, and threw three shuriken at Sakura. Little to his surprise, she dodged two of them, however, he didn't expect her to catch the third one. She quickly flung it back at him, and he blocked it with a kunai. Soon the two were in close combat, a dance of taijutsu somewhat. Sasuke was mainly the aggressor while Sakura worked on her defensive form.

Sasuke eventually kicked Sakura in the stomach and sent her back, making her land on her back, squinting in pain as she tried to get up. Sasuke threw a single kunai to her shoulder, however she suddenly lurched to the side while trying to gain balance. He suddenly realized his mistake, "Sakura!!!"

The kunai imbedded into her neck, and blood sprayed onto the grass. If only she hadn't moved to the side, she would have only got a shoulder wound, if she didn't block the weapon that is.

"No, Sakura!" Sasuke ran to his fallen teammate. It wasn't good, her breathing was hardly there, if at all, and her eyes were glazed over in shock. Sasuke activated his Sharingan, cradling the kunoichi as he tried to assess the damage. He knew nothing about medical jutsu, and he was pretty sure he had no time to get her to the hospital. However, as he scanned the girl, he felt something was off...

Suddenly, he felt cold steel poking at the back of his neck, and Sakura seemed to fade from sight as his eyes noticed it was an illusion.

"You lose, Sasuke." she said, poking him in the neck a little as he slowly rose to his feet.

"That's it, from now on, it's Sharingan active at all times while I spar with you." the Uchiha smiled, "Geez, Sakura, you scared me for a minute. When did you get so good at genjutsu?"

Sakura smiled, "I created it my self, though I'm sure it's nothing that hasn't been done before. I call it the False Death Jutsu...a simple technique that I developed after Kakashi taught me the basics. Your Sharingan broke through it pretty quickly after it was activated. Normally, my opponents don't get the chance to see through it." gave him an apologetic look, "Heh, sorry for the scare."

Sasuke merely shook his head, "No problem. That could definitely come in handy during the exams..." Sasuke said with a smirk.

The two walked to the village after resting up for a few minutes. They soon found themselves in front of an all-too-familiar ramen stand. The growling of two stomachs was heard, and they both gave each other embarassed looks.

"I guess it's lunch time..." Sakura laughed. Sasuke nodded, and the two headed over to the curtains.

"I'll pay this time." the Uchiha spoke.

"Sasuke, you don't ha-"

"Consider it a way of thanks for giving me a good fight. I'm pretty sure my shoulders will be sore for the next couple of hours." Sasuke said.

Sakura smiled warmly at her once former (well, not really former, maybe died-down) crush, and gave him a hug. He tensed up, but didn't have time to respond. It wasn't a flirty or glomping one like she used to give, just a friendly one. She walked towards the curtains while still smiling, "Thanks, Sasuke."

Sasuke stood there for half of a moment, and then let out a confused sigh, "Women, hn..."

**end of Chapter Five: Hey everybody! Let's wish Naruto a big happy birthday!! Woo! Yeah...anyways...there's my part one of epic battle between Naruto and Gaara. That's right, part two will be even more kick-arse! Let's put it this way, I am a bit of a romance nut at times, shame on me, but I want to make this good. Now, before the NaruSaku fans attack me for having Sakura and Sasuke pair up, stop. I'm not...as of now. If you didn't notice, she never once said 'Sasuke-kun', just Sasuke. Sasuke, on the other hand, has grown to respect Sakura. So there's the situation there. As for Naruto and Temari, it will come, it will, trust me. Maybe as early as next chapter! However, Naruto's going to need to explain himself after the whole scuffle is all said and done, but I'll make it work out! Well, hope you liked it, cause I sure did, even though my fingers didn't. Anyways, until we meet again!**


	6. Bloodstained Sands

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but that's okay, because I realize you probably don't either, so that makes me feel a little better on the inside. Cruel, eh?**

**Chap. 6: Blood-stained Sands**

Naruto leaped to his left as he avoided another blast of super-powered wind. He barely had a chance of attacking now, since Gaara decided to go all out and awaken the Bijuu inside of him. Despite Naruto's seemingly 'unlimited' chakra supply, he could do nothing if his body was about one two-thousandth the size of his opponent if not less than that. Naruto was now trying to lead the Shukaku away from the village and training ground, hoping to prevent any unnecessary injuries. He was relieved to see the Shukaku following him.

**"Get back here, you little runt!" **thundered the giant tanuki. Naruto was surprised to see that the legendary One-tailed Shukaku of legend was taking this battle as little more than a game of cat and mouse.

**"Hey, brat, listen up!"** yelled the Kyuubi.

"A little busy, fox!" Naruto replied, and then he quickly leaped forward to avoid being squashed by a titanic fist to the ground.

**"You won't be able to kill the Shukaku unless you destroy his container!"** continued the demon-fox, **"So, unless you plan on evading until your chakra is depleted, I suggest you think of a way to get to the Jinchuuriki boy."**

"Just how," yelled Naruto as he rolled to his right and continued sprinting, "do I do that? I thought that Gaara became the Shukaku!"

**"Ugh, look ontop of the Shukaku's head!" **Kyuubi replied, **"The kid's asleep, allowing the Shukaku free reign of the body. So, as long as the boy's sleeping, Shukaku's active!"**

Naruto dove behind some rocks, and quickly peeked around to see that Gaara was indeed asleep on the Shukaku's head. He was partially imbedded into the forehead.

"How the heck do I get all the way up there?" Naruto questioned to himself.

**"How about using two tails...?" **Kyuuib suggested with a hint of temtation in it. Naruto heard the Kyuubi chuckle sinisterly.

"No way, fox, I'm already feeling your chakra clawing at my seal. I'm not going to risk going beserk again!" Naruto retorted, and decided to reveal himself to the Shukaku, "Hey, moron! Over here!"

Shukaku snarled as he spotted his quarry's burning red aura. A grin spread over his face, **"So, you're the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, eh? Hahaha! Well, how does it feel, Fuzzball? Looks like you got ripped off with the Jinchuuriki department, seeing as I can still take control of my container! Some 'unlimited' power of yours! Gahaha!"** Naruto guessed that the Shukaku was directing his statement to Kyuubi, not Naruto, on the last part.

Kyuubi failed to find the humor in Shukaku's taunting, **"That's it! Kill him! Now!"** Kyuubi roared, shaking the foundations of his cage.

"Shut it, fox, I'm doing this my way. Just keep the chakra coming..." Naruto snapped at the bijuu. He watched as the claws of the Shukaku slammed down to the ground, missing Naruto as the blonde jumped back to avoid the initial shockwaves produced by the impact. Naruto took the his chances and summoned a chakra claw, and grabbed ahold of Shukaku's arm. He yanked himself up, and felt the Shukaku raise his arm as Naruto felt an increase in altitude.

**"Hey, get off!"** roared Shukaku, and a claw blocked Naruto from proceeding further up the demon's arm.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto spoke. A clone appeared, and it quickly threw Naruto off the Shukaku's arm and out of harm's way. In a puff of smoke, another one appeared, and quickly threw Naruto onto the muzzle of Shukaku himself. Had he been a second later, he would have been slapped into the ground by a giant tanuki hand.

Naruto began to run up to the sleeping form of Gaara, feeling the shadow of Shukaku's hands approaching him.

"Wake up call!" Naruto shouted as he gave Gaara a swift, chakra infused punch. The boy stirred a bit, but still remained asleep. Not good.

The Shukaku grabbed a hold of Naruto and flung him to the ground.

**"Wind Bullet!" **Shukaku roared, and blasted a wave of compressed air at the haggard form of Naruto who stood up again.

It was too close to avoid, Naruto realized, "More chakra, fox!" Naruto yelled at the last second, and his request was quickly meet by a surge of chakra. He opened up both his palms and spread out his fingers to full width, and released a wave of high powered wind.

Baki, Kankuro, and Temari stared in stone-still wonder. Naruto was taking on the Shukaku directly now...and still breathing. Now, the blonde haired boy had managed to negate one of the sand demon's wind bullets with his wind chakra.

Baki, however, didn't forget what he had just heard the Shukaku itself say about Naruto, "So...Naro's the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki..."

The giant beast staggered a bit, **"What the hell? How did you stop that?"** it bellowed as dust clouds began to cover the area from the two attacks.

"That's for me to know, and for you to never find out!" Naruto replied. The Shukaku turned to see the blonde on the right shoulder of it's giant body.

Temari felt her knees quake as she fell to the ground, in sheer awe now. Naro had punched the Shukaku to the ground..._punched_...not by means of jutsu...but by a _punch_!

"Please...don't kill Gaara..." she pleaded quietly, feeling her sisterly emotions take over. She was actually starting to feel herself panic, knowing that if the Shukaku failed, Naro could pretty much kill Gaara.

Naruto landed in front of the giant demon. It groaned as it opened one eye,** "What...are...you?"**

Naruto simply formed a ball of wind chakra in his right hand, "A man who shares a burden like your container's. Now give up, I don't want to go further with this..."

**"Never!"** replied the demon-tanuki, and it raised a claw to strike down Naruto. Naruto quickly hurled the ball of wind chakra at Gaara, and it hit.

The Shukaku froze as Gaara slowly woke up, **"Nooo!"** roared the demon as it's eyes dulled, and crumbled to sand.

Gaara lied on the ground, heaving in air as he stared at the boy named Naro Uzaki. For the first time in almost six years Gaara no Subaka was scared.

"No...stay away...don't come closer!" Gaara yelled, watching as a now normal Naruto staggered to him. Gone was the red shroud of evil chakra, the fangs and claws, and those burning red eyes that reflected the blood lust that oozed of the blonde's body.

Naruto suddenly collapsed, only a foot or so away from Gaara. He raised his head, blue eyes on the verge of tears, "I know what you're feeling, Gaara...you and me...we're alike." he coughed, and he began to tremble as childhood memories flooded his thoughts. Naruto had tried, but never could fully forget them.

Gaara's eyes widened, and he began to tremble as well, his owns ghosts haunting him as well. This boy...suddenly it seemed clear. The chakra...the animal-like demeanor in battle...that chakra...it all made sense, "No...I said stay away!"

Naruto suddenly clutched onto the red-haired boy's hand, as though his life depended on it, "Gaara, please, listen to me. I know what it's lke, to be in that dark, cold, and lonely hell, believe me, I do! I probably would have ended up the same way as you if it weren't for the fact that a few people decided to care for me...including your sister as well. She tried to protect me from you..." Naruto stared into his opponent's eyes, tears falling now, "Gaara, I know you may not understand fully, I can understand why too, but please...don't do this to yourself. I don't want to kill you. If you continue to attack them, I will continue to protect them...even if it means dying to do so. I would rather be your friend though, Gaara. I want to help."

"Why?" Gaara asked.

"Even shinobi need friends...Jinchuuriki are no exception." Naruto replied with a grin.

"...friends..." Gaara spoke, trying to take in the word's meaning fully.

"Gaara, Naro!" cried out the voice of Temari, and the two Jinchuuriki looked to see the other three running to them. Gaara looked at everyone, and then to Naruto, who had helped lift up the sand user.

"Let's stop fighting..." Gaara whispered, "I don't want to fight anymore."

Naruto grinned as he tied his cloth around his face again, "Heh, well, Gaara, I'm glad you stopped...I really don't know how much longer I would have lasted."

Gaara seemed to be calm now, and but sad as well.

Suddenly, five Jonin appeared before the group, "All of you are to report to the Kazekage at once." spoke one of them.

6666666

Baki, Kankuro, Temari, Gaara, and 'Naro' all knelt before the leader of Sunagakure, the Kazekage. Naruto could barely make out the man's face since it was behind a veil.

"Sit." the Kazekage spoke. The group did as commanded, even Gaara, "I demand to have an explanation as to _why_ about one-hundred of the shinobi in Suna had seen the Shukaku outside the village earlier this morning."

Naruto was about to speak, but Baki did first, "Lord Kazekage, I can explain this."

Baki gave the explanation of the fight, even explaining as to why Gaara went rampant after seeing Naruto's blood. Temari and Kankuro filled in any missing details while Gaara and Naruto were essentially mute.

The veiled man looked to Gaara and Naruto, "So...you were also involved in this disturbance? You're not even a qualified shinobi..."

Naruto nodded, "I apologize, Kazekage-sama." Gaara merely nodded, not willing to speak with the man who was family only by blood, and had on numerous occasions sent assassins to kill him.

The Wind-shadow didn't even blink as he gave Naruto a hard stare, then looked to Baki, Temari, and Kankuro, "Very well, you three are dismissed. I will speak to you two alone." he spoke, turning to the two Jinchuuriki.

The three made no protest, and left the Kazekage's office, only stopping to inform Gaara they would be at the estate waiting. Gaara, to their surprise, thanked them for letting him know, and said he would be there when the meeting was over.

The Kazekage narrowed his eyes on 'Naro', "Care to explain how a wandering orphan boy defeated the One-tailed Shukaku? Baki told me that you had the ability to use chakra...but he never told me about your strength." he then folded his hands together and continued, "I would rather you be honest with me. You are not yet a citizen, despite Baki asking me to make you one...so killing you wouldn't be much of an issue." Naruto felt the tension in the room thicken, and if not for Gaara being there, he may very well have began to whimper, "I know you're a ninja...but where are you from?"

"Actually...I _was_ a ninja." Naruto corrected politely.

"So, you've abandoned your village?" the older man asked.

"I like to think of it as 'self-exiled'." Naruto replied.

"Which village then?" the Kazekage continued.

Naruto decided he was screwed enough at this point either way, so lying wouldn't help, "Konohagakure, sir. My real name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I was serving as a Genin of the village until a little less than a month ago."

"Well, _Naruto_, how did you manifest so much chakra? I was told by a few that it wasn't...human." the Kazekage inquired.

Naruto gritted his teeth, knowing that he would have to leave after this conversation was over. Suna obviously didn't take kindly to outsiders, and seeing Gaara's behavior, that went double for Jinchuuriki, "Well, that's because I...am the container of the Nine-tailed Fox...the Kyuubi."

The Kazekage's eyes widened a little, but he quickly masked it, "Really? I had heard that the Fourth Hokage killed it by sacrificing his own life..."

Naruto decided to give his story on the what really happened twelve years ago on the night of October tenth. He realized that it was alot less tense in the room as he continued. He dared to look up to the Kazekage, and was surprised to see the man with a look of interest, not hate, in his eyes. Gaara himself looked to the blonde with some understanding.

The Kazekage stared in silence after Naruto finished by explaining his leaving Wave Country after a mission and how he ended up here. He gave the boy a knowing look, "The villagers hated you."

Naruto nodded, "Alot of the ninja did too...but I don't blame them really. I would probably feel the same if I were in their shoes. At one point, I hated them too, but I figured it was pointless to brew in my own emotions, so I decided to prove them wrong by becoming a ninja."

The Kazekage nodded, "That truly is a noble way of looking at it...however, I can assume that you're village is looking for you, since you're a ninja."

"Most likely, Kazekage-sama." Naruto replied.

The Kazekage sighed, realizing this rather gifted individual may not even have a chance of serving Suna, seeing an even greater problem now, "You do realize that this puts Suna in a difficult situation with Konoha, correct...?"

Naruto merely nodded.

Gaara had been silent, but then spoke, "Kazekage-sama, if I may, I have an idea. It may solve this problem."

The Kazekage looked up, and gave his son a nod, concealing his surprise at hearing his son speak, "Very well, Gaara. Tell us."

"We could give Naruto the rank of Genin. He could then join our team for the time before the exams, and then we could split our team into two, that way we won't be outnumbering other teams. If Konoha asks about Naruto before the exams, or if they have shinobi sent here and they find him, we could simply state we were unaware of his affiliation to Konoha." Gaara spoke calmly.

The Kazkage would have been proud of the boy before him for such a diplomatic approach to the matter if it wasn't for the fact that Gaara was until recently a silent, yet deadly person, "That may work, Gaara." he turned to Naruto, "Naruto Uzumaki, I hereby declare you a Genin of Sunagakure...under the given circumstances discussed..."

Naruto couldn't help but grin, but refrained from jumping and hollering with joy, "Th-thank you, Kazekage-sama. I promise to serve this village to the best of my abilities." he then bowed.

The veiled man merely waved a hand, "Yes, yes. Now, we'll need to see about getting you a residence somwhere around-"

"He could stay on the Subaka estate with our family..." Gaara interrupted.

The Kazekage was quiet for a moment, then looked to Naruto, "Does this offer suit you?"

Naruto looked to Gaara. The red-haired boy nodded, the equivalent of a 'please' towards inviting him, "That's fine with me."

The Kazekage nodded, and handed a Suna hitai-ite to Naruto, and spoke calmly, "Uzumaki, you'll from here on out be a member of Baki's team, and will remain a resident of the Subaka estate. I expect you to honor this, and to obey your sensei as expected. You'll soon learn that Konoha and Suna are very different in training their ninja, although we're allies. I expect to hear great success in your team."

Naruto finished tightening his hitai-ite over his bandana coverering his head, "Understood, Kazekage-sama. Thank you."

The two boys were then dismissed after the Kazekage instructed Gaara and Naruto to inform their team about the change in their team, as well as tell them about Naruto's true background. Naruto was already out of the room, but Gaara stood at the exit for a moment.

"Father...I hope that you can trust Naruto," the Shukaku Jinchuuriki said calmly, and looked directly to his father, "He defeated me, and may have very well saved the village in the process. However, he told me something about true strength...and that there's more to life than killing to prove my power. He told me about a different kind of strength."

"What kind of strength would that be...?"

"The kind derived from protecting those important to you...he showed me what I've been doing all these years, and that what I've been doing is meaningless and horrible. Naruto and I are alike in many ways, now that I think about it, yet he has turned out better because of our shared traits. I hope to someday be as much of a person as him. So, I would like to start off this new outlook by formerly apologizing for all those people I have killed. I know that I may never be able to regain true forgiveness, but I would like to let _you_ know that my days of savagery are over." Gaara then left, leaving his father in a state of shock.

The Kazekage looked to the door where just moments ago, stood the Jinchuuriki of both the Kyuubi and the Shukaku. One was a compassionate soul, the other was until recently a psychotic killer.

Gaara wished to stop killing? No longer wanted to cause bloodspray? Well, this was both good and bad. Suna's local Jinchuuriki would no longer be viewed as a ominous barrier to enemies, but would now hopefully be less of a threat to the village. The Kazekage looked to a pile of mission scrolls, and picked up one yet to be issued. It was an assassination mission that was aimed towards a certain red-haired gourd carrier. He carefully put it over the candle on his desk, and watched it burn away.

Perhaps he could possibly have a chance to redeem himself for all the wrongs he had done to his family, namely his children. He had indirectly killed his wife, forced his eldest daughter into caring for her two younger brothers at a young age, and never showed them any care that fathers should. This sounded next to impossible, but it was worth a try. Naruto Uzumaki did something to Gaara, and it made his youngest son to a less violent person. Hopefully, he would have a chance to maybe teach Temari the family's famous wind techniques. His children knew the scrolls' locations in the family mansion, but they were not allowed to view them.

The Wind-shadow shook his head, so much to happen and was only going on to eleven o' clock in the morning. A knock at the door shook the leader of Suna from his thoughts, "Yes?"

A Sand-Chunin walked in and bowed, "Kazekage-sama, Lord Orochimaru has arrived as scheduled."

The Kazekage sighed. He was getting weary of the Snake-sannin's meetings. In truth, the leader of Suna wanted very little to do with the invasion of Konoha, regardless of Suna's current state financially. Today he would tell Orochimaru to leave Suna, and that Suna would take no part in breaking the hard earned treaty it earned with the Hidden Leaf Village.

The pale and ghastly looking Snake-sannin walked in, an unnerving smile on his face sending a disturbing feeling through the Kazekage's body.

"A pleasure to see you yet again, Lord Kazekage. I assume you've reached your decision in the invasion of Konoha during the Chunin exams?"

"Yes, and I will not have my village take any part in your plans, Orochimaru. Suna will remain allies of Konoha, and I suggest you give up the plans, for should you go through with them, my shinobi _will _provide assistance to the Hidden Leaf. Now leave before I decide to turn you in to Konoha so they may deal with you properly."

Orochimaru remained smiling, but his eyes narrowed menacingly, "Hm, how dissapointing. I was hoping not to resort to this, but I have no choice...you know too much now." he spoke, and quickly drew his sword.

The Kazekage silently cursed as he drew a kunai, wishing now that he had said what he had wanted to Gaara before he left that morning about trying start over with his son. He knew that he stood little chance against the Sannin, and regretted never teaching Temari those wind techniques that would have helped her, or for not letting Kankuro know more about their family's heritage. He also wished he had thanked Baki for watching over his children and for teaching them so well. Not to mention wishing he had thanked Naruto Uzumaki for helping save his son from the bloodlust of the Shukaku.

He knew now that it was too late when he felt the cold steel drive threw his very heart.

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The Jounin guards outside the Kazekage mansion never suspected anything when Orochimaru, along with his six Oto-nin escorts, left the building a half an hour later. What they didn't know was that their leader was dead, Orochimaru was actually now sitting in the Kazekage's chair in his office, and the Orochimaru walking away was actually an Earth Clone. The body of the Kazekage was now mummified and hidden by Sound-nin spies. Suna never learned what happened that morning, and wouldn't until it would be too late.

**End of Chapter Six: Well, there you have it, chapter six done. This is what I call a 'plot changer' chapter, since Gaara's not a crazy psycho, where in the manga and anime, he was until the Chunin exams. Naruto and Gaara will be playing a big role in the chapters following the Chunin exams, and I will begin to focus on Temari and Naruto starting next chapter. I plan on doing a few things with Gaara that will change him, courtesy of Naruto's influence. On a side note, I wanted to add the last part to show that the Kazekage may have indeed had regret for what he had done to his children in the past, and show that he wanted to try and patch things up. Heheh, yeah, I know it seems a little out of character, but we never saw much of the Kazekage's true character, so who knows? Anyway, I'm sorta catching up with myself in typing versus writing out ahead of time, so I may not update for a little while, that way I can plot out everything. Naruto's going to end playing a big part during the invasion. How? I'm not telling. Well, until we meet again, thanks for reading, and let me know what you think thus far!**


	7. A Time for Reflection

**Disclaimer: (Insert funny joke about not owning Naruto here). Sorry, can't think of anything creative right now. I don't own Naruto, or any of it's characters.**

**Chap.7: A Time for Reflection**

Naruto was sitting on the top the dome roof of the Subaka estate, admiring the stars in the sky. He had already brought his few belongings to a room that Gaara had told him would be his.

Naruto had meant to spend some time with Gaara, but Gaara politely declined. Gaara had stated that while Naruto had made Gaara realize a few things, he still wasn't in complete control of his situation, unlike Naruto. Gaara stated also that he didn't really sleep, so he decided to patrol Suna to keep himself occupied for the evening. Naruto decided to relax and enjoy the cool night air.

The sound of footsteps made the blonde look behind him to meet a rather blank-faced Temari.

"So...Naruto, huh?" she asked, letting a little anger show on her face.

"Temari-chan, I can explain-"

"Gaara already told me and Kankuro, and Baki know about it already. I just want to know _why_?" she asked as she took a seat next to the younger boy.

"Because...I don't trust myself with others anymore ever since the Kyuubi first revealed its power to me in a battle back on my first C-rank mission a few weeks before I came to Suna. That battle with Gaara only further proves how dangerous I am." he replied, staring at the sky.

Temari had the feeling that this side of Naruto was rarely seen; the side that showed he was actually quite sensitive and worried about what the few people close to the blonde thought about him. Regardless, she didn't accept that as an answer, "What do you mean?"

Naruto gave her a sad grin, "I mean that I don't know if I can always guarantee that I will have control over Kyuubi. I may end up hurting someone...or worse."

"Is that why you left Konoha? To protect those close to you?" she said, finally seeing what he meant.

Naruto simply nodded.

"Well, then why did you ever come here?" Naruto looked to Temari, and raised an eyebrow, "Surely you would only end up leaving again, right? That way, you wouldn't hurt anyone here, right?" She couldn't help but grin as she pointed out the flaw in his idea.

Naruto looked like someone had just told him that Kakashi didn't have a face underneath his mask, "Well...I..."

Temari laughed a little, "Naruto, you are kind of going against your own beliefs of protecting those close to you by leaving them...but I can tell you care deeply about them if you're willing to leave them to 'protect' them." she slowly placed a hand on his, and gently squeezed it.

Naruto nearly jumped at the contact, and gave the wind-maiden a confused look, "T-Temari-chan...?"

"You did something that I had never thought possible today, Naruto. You saved Gaara from himself...you freed him from his...problems, I guess. Our family owes you our thanks at the very least. So...thank you."

Naruto grinned, and rubbed the back of his head, "Heheh, it was nothing."

Temari seemed to grip his hand tighter, and Naruto stopped his nervous grinning as he looked into her eyes to see...tears?

"I mean it, Naruto. You made Gaara...feel alive in a whole new way, " she started to shed the tears, and quickly wiped them away with her free hand, "You want to know something?"

Naruto nodded, unsure of what he was going to expect.

"Gaara apologized to me for what happened today. He let me hug him after that. _Hug_ him! He hasn't let me do that since...since...oh I can't even remember when the last time was that I did that!" she smiled, and Naruto felt his heart melt at the sight of how the moon shined on her face, "Naruto...I want to thank you for also saving me today. I could have been killed...but you saved me. Thank you..." she was now crying freely, even though it was still quiet.

Naruto had very little experience, if any at all, when it came to comforting a women in distress. He decided to wrap his arms around the kunoichi, hearing once that hugs were one form of comforting another. He was suprised when instead of pushing him away, she only held onto him tighter.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm glad you're happy about all this..." Naruto said, hoping she wouldn't think he was perverted by holding her.

Temari found that Naruto was a bit warmer than her, and had to use every bit of her willpower to pull away from him. She stopped crying and smiled, "Sorry about that...that was stupid of me. It's just, today truly has changed the life of my entire family. We used to be afraid of Gaara, and now I'm finding that Gaara wants to actually wants to spar with Kankuro and I, and learn how to prepare meals...it's just..." she shook her head, "Naruto, promise me that you never end up how Gaara once was."

Naruto smiled, and an idea came to his mind. He remebered back to what Haku had said about precious people, and to protect them at any and all costs, "I promise Temari. From here on out, I'll never go back on my word! That's my nindo! I promise I'll never become a distant, cold-hearted person!"

Temari couldn't help but smile, and her already huge amount of respect for the boy increased further. She just heard him declare his nindo, and that he would never go back on his promise. She couldn't help but smile even further, "Naruto, you truly are a wonderful guy."

Naruto had the decency to blush a bit at the compliment, and Temari smiled upon seeing this. She decided to tease him a bit, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before getting up, "Well, I"m off to bed. Why don't you and I go and train tomorrow? I can help you harness your wind better."

Naruto nodded with a dumbstruck look on his face, clearly suprised by Temari's kiss to the cheek.

Temari giggled, "Sounds good. I'll stop by your place tomorrow around ten or so. Good night, Naruto-kun."

A minute later, Naruto's eyes widened, "She just...did she...?"

Temari could hear the hooting and hollering of Naruto outside. Jinchuuriki or not, Naruto was worthy of her heart. He had already proven his strength to her, and his kindness had spoken for itself. Sure, he didn't alway run on all one-hundred watts of his brainpower, but she kind of thought that was cute. Maybe, just maybe, she could give Naruto a chance.

A loud "My first kiss from a girl!" made her grin.

Forget _maybe _giving him a chance. He didn't have a choice.

After hearing several yells from local passerby telling him to keep it down, Naruto finally settled down. He spent most of the remaining night admiring the stars, and absentmindedly touching his right cheek while grinning. After some time passed, he felt another presence, and turned to see the other local Jinchuuriki standing a little ways from him.

"Hey, Gaara."

The red-haired boy nodded, "You wouldn't mind if I joined you, would you?"

Naruto smiled, "Go right ahead."

Gaara sat down cross-legged by Naruto and joined the blonde in watching the stars.

"It seems that you enjoy watching the night sky as much as I do..." Gaara spoke, seeing the far off look on Naruto's face.

"Yeah," the blonde chuckled with a sad grin, "I find that it always helped me forget about the bad stuff in my life, and that I should be happy to be alive...and at the same time it reminds that even though I was alone, I never had to feel lonely..."

Gaara seemed to understand somewhat. He was never a person to pry with other people's thoughts, but Naruto shared a special connection with him, "How so?"

Naruto grinned, shaking his head, "You would think it's stupid."

Gaara shook his head, "I don't think that's possible if I can't have a reason to think that."

Naruto sighed, "Well, of all of those billions of stars in the sky, I sometimes like to think that maybe two of them are my mom and dad watching me."

Gaara said nothing for a moment, but spoke after a few minutes of silence, "I don't think that's stupid at all."

Naruto turned to him, "Really?"

Gaara nodded, "I can relate to that in a way. I don't have a mother..."

Naruto frowned, but risked to dig a little deeper, "What happened to her?"

Gaara let his eyes narrow a little as he stared at the crescent moon, "She died giving birth to me as a result of the Shukaku being placed inside me."

Naruto nodded, and said nothing further. They seeme to share a silent understanding with each other, and the two found themselves comfortable with it. Naruto found he had someone he could relate to in so many ways, and considered the boy a friend. Gaara found Naruto's outlook on life interesting, and saw that the blonde truly could understand the troubles he went through as a child. They carried a burden within them that gave them extraordinary gifts and horrible curses at the same time. Both had a few special people in their live now, and would protect them with their lives if need be.

Naruto eventually felt a yawn escape his body, and got up. He said goodnight to Gaara, and headed to the window to his room to get some sleep.

"Naruto..."

The blonde turned to see Gaara facing away from him, but he could tell that the Shukaku holder was not ignoring him, "Yeah?"

"If you plan to court my sister, Kankuro and I have already agreed that you have our blessing."

Naruto's face turned a shade of red, "Oh-um...o-okay...heh, I'm not entirely sure I'm quite ready for a girlfriend but-"

Gaara turned to face him, and raised an eyebrow. Naruto was relieved to see no malice in his eyes, "So...Neesan didn't propose you go on a date with her earlier this evening?"

"Oh! N-no, she simply offered to train me tomorrow in controlling my wind chakra better." Naruto explained.

Gaara shrugged, and turned to face the moon again, "Well, either way, should it happen, you have our blessing...and I might add that it would be in your best interest to take it, since she has quite a large list of possible suitors. If you wait too long, someone else may already start to court her. You just happen to be better liked by the family, so we don't mind if you're not officially courting her."

Naruto seemed to realize that he was dealing with the Kazekage's daughter, and that she very well could have anyone she wanted in a sense. He was even more suprised to know that Gaara and Kankuro favored him over some rich lord's son or a wealthy merchant, "Oh, well, um thanks, Gaara." Gaara nodded, and with that, Naruto went inside.

Truth was, the blonde didn't know _what_ to think. A_ girlfriend_? Was that possible for him? He recalled on several occassions that whenever he offered to take Sakura on a date, he was met with a fist to the face, followed by a mouthful of dirt and a large lump on the head in most cases.

Naruto lie in his bed for awhile, and decided to let the idea be stored into the back of his mind for now. No sense in losing sleep over it.

Still...Temari _was_ a very beautiful kunoichi in his opinion.

7777777

Kakashi stood by an all too familiar stone. It was probably close to two in the morning, but he didn't really care. He usually only needed five hours of sleep per day and he would be fine. Besides, there was no training today since it was the the team's day off. He doubted they would actually use it as a break though; they never had since Wave. Sakura had increased her chakra capacity by more than half since they came back to Konoha, which was saying alot for her, and her taijutsu and genjutsu had increased by leaps and bounds. Sasuke even increased his Sharingan's tomoe by two, and his ninjutsu and taijutsu were nearly flawless.

It did bring him joy to see that his students were improving so much, and he was even happier to see that he was able to help in doing that. Still, Team Seven was only three-fourths of what is truly should be. A major aspect of their team was gone...a very bright, cheerful, and amazingly comforting aspect. Naruto had been the guy that helped Sakura show her intelligence, the part that drove Sasuke to work harder, and the student that made everyday a little different for Kakashi. He may have the smartest kunoichi and the top rookie of this year's class, but he didn't have it's most unpredictable ninja.

He did find comfort in the fact that Sasuke was more socialble and that he wasn't so distant anymore. In fact, on several occasions, he actually offered to pay for lunch when they took a break from training, which usually meant eating at Ichiraku's. Ichiraku Ramen was quite well off, considering it had its regulars, but Teuchi and Ayame were devastated when they first heard from Sakura and Sasuke that Naruto was no longer in Konoha. They ofcourse didn't explain the whole thing, and had to make up a few things, but the point still hit home with the ramen stand; their favorite and best customer was not around anymore.

One thing Kakashi noticed was the major change in the attitude of Sakura and Sasuke while they did train. They never complained anymore, even when they had to chase down the cat of the wife of the Fire Country's daiyamo. He even found out they set a record in catching the cat in only two minutes of locating the cat. Kakashi wondered how they improved so much, but he knew why...

The look that Sasuke and Sakura exchanged when they realized that if they became Chunin that they could lead a platoon of ninja said it all. They were improving so they could go and find Naruto. He was the force driving them so hard that even Sarutobi and Iruka noticed the vast improvement stated in their mission reports.

Kakashi looked at the Memorial Stone, "What would you have done, Minato-sensei?" he asked, looking at the name of the Yondaime carved into the stone. He knew the answer though. Minato Namikaze wouldn't have messed up to begin with.

Kakashi had been told by Sarutobi that the situation wasn't his fault, and that things like this can't be predicted. Kakashi disagreed. He believed that perhaps if he had spent a little more time teaching Naruto, if he had perhaps had been there for the boy when he was younger and given him the knowledge that someone cared about his existence, then maybe things would be different.

He sighed, and stood up. Now he was going to lose sleep over this, he just knew it. Oh well, Sakura and Sasuke usually started training before he arrived anyway, so maybe he could actually use the excuse that he had slept in. They would probably not bother him about, seeing as they didn't always get the best of sleep either.

"Naruto...I hope I'll see you again. I promise I won't fail you twice..."

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"Wait, so this kid is Minato's son? Huh, I wish I had known that sooner..." said a certain Toad Sage.

"Yes, that is Minato's boy. His name is Naruto Uzumaki, and he's been missing for a little more than a month now." replied the Sandaime.

Jiraiya gave back the picture of Naruto to the elderly man, and then his face turned serious, "That isn't good. I actually bumped into this kid about a week ago outside of Fire Country. Didn't recognize him without the crying and the seal freshly placed on his belly though."

Sarutobi nodded, "So, do you know where he was heading?"

"Westward, not sure where he is now though. Had I known who he was though, I wouldn't have told him that Sunagakure was in the direction he was heading." replied the Sannin.

Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a tired groan. Suna? If Naruto had managed to cross the Wind Country's desert and had reached the Hidden Village of the Sand shinobi, this whole mess had just become an international level problem as well. Jiraiya stated that Naruto wasn't wearing a hitai-ate, and that he wasn't sporting the usual orange jacket.

"Well, this leaves us with at least three possible scenarios. One, Naruto is well beyond our reach, and has continued traveling beyond the five shinobi nations. Two, he's now in Suna, and possibly a shinobi of the Hidden Sand, or three...he's dead." Sarutobi said as he lit his pipe. He got up from his chair and looked out over the night sky of Konoha, a troubled look on his face.

Jiraiya didn't like seeing his former teacher in such a state, "Hey, come on old man, the kid seemed pretty capable of himself. Besides, even if he's in Suna, you can always have them bring him back to us. I mean, they are in an alliance with us. If he's one of their shinobi, he may even appear here for the upcoming exam."

Sarutobi nodded, "It's highly unlikely, but I do remember that Naruto was always known for suprising people."

The Third Hokage blew out a plume of smoke, and reminded himself of how capable Naruto was. A boy who had lived on his own his whole life seemed very likely to still be alive, he thought. He silently prayed that the boy was okay, and that if he was continuing to grow strong. Minato had asked that the boy be seen as a hero, and Sarutobi wasn't a man to abandon a hero of the Hidden Leaf.

**End of Chapter Seven: Hey everyone, I've finally managed to get this chapter up! I've been busy with college recently, and have been working on my other stories as well. I'm glad to see that people were enjoying this story so much, so I think it's safe to say that I'm doing allright with the story so far. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up soon, but I'm not going to promise it. Don't worry, it won't take a whole two months or something like that. Maybe a couple weeks, but not too long! Anyways, thanks to those who continue to read and review, I really appreciate the support. As you can see, Naruto's become a welcome member to the Subaka residence. The next chapter may have a few timeskips in it (we're talking days and weeks , not years) and in case you haven't noticed, Temari seems to like Naruto, so that should make things interesting. Again, if you have any questions about the story, feel free to ask me, and I'll do my best to answer it without giving away too much! Until we meet again, keep on reading!**


	8. Discoveries

**Disclaimer: So, anyone here own Naruto? Anyone...? No takers, eh? Good. That makes me feel better. I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, and unless Kishimoto or Shonen Jump decides I should write alternate universe fics for them, I won't be getting money off this.**

**Chap. 8: Discoveries**

Naruto focused on his opponent while a desert wind blew past. He took in a few deep breaths, and with speed unnatural for a human, sprinted towards his target. He quickly went through a few seals, and jumped into the air. His opponent remained unmoving as he finished with the final seal. Pulling back his right palm, he cried out with as much ferocity as he could muster, "Wind Style: Wind Blast Jutsu!"

The enemy crumpled as I high pressure gust of wind smashed into the sandy ground below him. He landed in a crouching position, and waited for the dust to clear. He remained alert, and his eyes scanned the area. Without warning, a hand of sand burst from beneath him, and grabbed a hold of his ankles. The coils of sand swung him around a few times before dumping him unceremoniously into a nearby dune.

"Naruto, you weren't focusing..." came the calm voice of Gaara. He closed his eyes as he went into a stance he had been working on with his blonde friend for about a month now. At Naruto's behest, Gaara decided that relying on his sand alone wasn't good enough. The boy was by no means a close range fighter, but Gaara decided that after recieving the royal beating from the blonde that he should learn _some_ taijutsu. Naruto wasn't that great in the area either, but with Baki supervising the two, they were able to learn from each other and the veiled man.

The two boys went into a purely taijutsu based fight, and they were going at it like never before. Naruto managed to get a few punches in with the style he picked up from Baki, while Gaara went through his own taijutsu variation that he learned from Naruto. The redhead was weighed down by his sand, so speed was not an option for him. Instead, he mingled his sand with his blows so that he could extend his reach with every punch and kick he dealt. It was quite unique, Baki couldn't deny that, but it wasn't a pure taijutsu stance. Needless to say, having Gaara punch you in the gut, and then have a follow up from a fist shaped clod of sand could send almost anyone flying.

Naruto got up, and dusted himself off as he spit up some sand, "Hey, it's not my fault that you're able to create a sand clone and hide your chakra from me while I attack. We both know that your control over your chakra is only second to Kankuro's and that's because he's older, and a puppet master needs to have good control in order to fight!"

Baki rolled his eyes as he saw where this was going. Gaara shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe if you focused more on training your senses and less on what kind of restaurant you want to take Nee-san to, then this wouldn't happen."

Naruto blushed, and growled a bit, "Hey, we've only gone out three times in the last month! Oh, and for the record, she's the one who usually picks out where we go."

It was true though. In the past month since he had been made a Genin of the Hidden Sand, Naruto had become the luckiest guy in all of Wind Country--at least in his opinion--because he was officially the boyfriend of Temari no Subaka.

"If I recall correctly, Gaara, Naruto had been forced to go to those fancy restaurants...and pay with his own money, too." spoke the older brother of the Sand user. Kankuro had been watching the two for the last fifteen minutes after he got done cleaning Crow's gears. It was a tedious task, but it kept his battle puppet in tip-top shape, "Not to mention that Temari kind of left Naruto with little say in the matter of if he wanted to date her or not."

Gaara nodded, "Yes, I'll admit it, even Nee-san can be scary when she wants something...though I do admit, even though I've never had a girlfriend, saying you'll pound your significant other into the sand if they don't show up at a restaurant by seven sharp is pushing it."

Naruto rubbed his head, and despite the jabs the two were making at Naruto's manliness, he couldn't be happier. Temari was quite a tough girl when she needed to be, but she also had a gentle, kinder side too. Naruto was one of the few that knew that. Oh, he'd recieve the occasional kiss on the cheek from her, but her words were what made him swell with joy.

Baki looked at his watch, "Okay, Naruto, it's going almost two now. If you plan on working with Temari, you better hurry up. She may be your girlfriend, but she's still your tutor in wind jutsu. If you're late, I can't hold any responsibility for what she does to you."

Naruto nodded, "Okay, thanks for the help today, Baki-sensei," he then turned to Kankuro and Gaara, "So, I'm guessing that we're eating at home tonight?"

Kankuro smirked; Naruto had been here for little over a month, yet he already called the Subaka estate his home, "Well, unless Temari has plans with you tonight, I would assume so. There's always barbeque if we don't make anything though."

Gaara nodded, "Well, I can always start making stir fry for later."

The three shinobi sweatdropped, "Um...Gaara, no offense, but last time you made stir fry, you had the entire mansion clear out so we could wait for the smoke to dissipate..." Kankuro said with a pat on the shoulder. Gaara looked at his brother, and frowned.

"So...am I that bad at stir fry?"

Kankuro had to remind himself that Gaara had changed over the last month, and that being honest with his younger brother was the best option, "Yeah. I will admit though, no one can come close to you when it come to desserts...well, except for Temari."

Gaara gave his brother a small smile, "Then I shall make a cake for tonight."

With that said, the two brothers headed home. Baki waved goodbye to Naruto, and headed off to his own quarters. Naruto sprinted to training ground twelve where Temari would be waiting for him.

When Naruto finally arrived to his destination, he was suprised to see a smiling Temari sitting on a boulder. Good sign, Naruto thought. He unwrapped the cloth scarf from his face and let it flap around his neck. Temari had said that she didn't like him wearing it all the time, and he saw her point. She apparantly thought that he was too handsome to hide his face like that, so he agreed that whenever they were alone or in their house that he would let his face show.

"Hey, Naruto. How was training?" she asked as she got up give him a peck on the cheek.

Naruto blushed. No matter how often she did that, he still wasn't used to female attention of this kind, "Fine. Gaara whooped my butt though. I keep telling him that his Sand Fist taijutsu is not really pure taijutsu, and that if we went against each other based on pure strength that I would win."

Temari smirked, "Well, at least he's trying. He _never_ used taijutsu before you came along. The Sand Coffin seemed to be effective enough for him."

Naruto nodded, "So, what did you want to teach me today? I've gotten the wind manipulation down pretty well, and I've been working on the Wind Blast Jutsu everyday. What else do we need to focus on right now?"

Temari smiled. She had to admit, though he was nowhere near her in wind manipulation, but he was sure good at learning the necessities. He had so far mastered four techniques, and two were his own. The Severing Wind Strike and Wind Blast Jutsu were his own creation. Gaara had taught him the Drilling Air Bullet, and Temari had taught him a variation of her Rumbling Wind Wall Jutsu that didn't involve a fan. He truly had become a great fighter, in her opinion at least. She still had quite a few techniques that she wasn't willing to teach him...but today was special to her. She was going to share a technique with him that only she used.

"Well, Naruto, today I'm going to teach you something that I think you may be ready for. Your chakra control should be sufficient enough for it, and I think it will fit in well with your affinity to wind." Temari said as the two took a seat in the gravel-like ground.

"Really? What is it, what is it!" Naruto said, and couldn't help but grin. Temari was going to teach him another awesome jutsu no doubt.

"Calm down, baka, I haven't even told you what it is," she snapped while unfurling her fan to three moons, "Tell me, Naruto, what do you know about summoning?"

Naruto pondered for a moment, "Well, I know that usually it involves offering a little blood in order to call upon a summon creature to help you in battle, or to do other tasks that would be more difficult for a shinobi to accomplish."

Temari nodded, this would make things alot easier for her if he knew a thing or two about summons, "Good. Well, watch closely then. I'm not sure if it will change for you, but this is what I do to summon."

Naruto watched as his blonde female companion bit her thumb, and spread some of the blood on her fan. She stood up, and with a swish of her fan yelled out, "Summoning Jutsu!"

A wind blew as a cloud of smoke appeared. Naruto watched as the smoke cleared, and raised an eyebrow as Temari stood with a small weasel on her shoulder. It was a snowy white, and had a patch over one eye. It also seemed to be carrying a huge scythe in its paws...a scythe that he found much larger than the creature itself, "Naruto, meet Kamatari."

Naruto frowned, "He...doesn't look like a really powerful guy...but...I guess if you're showing me him, he must be strong."

Temari frowned as well, "Naruto, what was the first rule I taught you about wind techniques?"

Naruto sighed, "I know, I know...'Don't underestimate the power of the wind'. It's just, well, I've heard of people summoning huge dogs, and toads...but...he's a little weasel."

Kamatari laughed, "Hey, Temari, this your boyfriend? He still seems wet behind the ears."

Temari sighed, "Yeah, he's talented though, believe me. Listen, would you be willing to work a contract out with him?"

Kamatari thought about it for a moment, looking at the younger blonde with a judgemental look in his eyes, "Hm...sure, he seems good enough."

Temari gave the weasel a hug, "Thanks, Kamatari. You don't know how much this means to me."

Kamatari gave the girl a confused look, "I thought this was for the boy, not you..."

Temari smirked, "Hey, do you know any other people that can summon you right now?"

The one-eyed weasel gave a nod, "Ah, I see your point..."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow upon hearing the last part of their conversation, "Um, what do you two mean by that? Are you saying that only you can summon him?"

Temari gave the boy a proud grin, "Darn right, I am! Kamatari's clan only allows one member of their clan to be summoned. Kamatari's that member. So, because of this, very few people can summon him. Not only that, but they have to have an affinity to wind. In the past, Kamatari's clan used to make contracts with the wind maidens of the desert."

"Wind maidens?" Naruto repeated, giving Temari a confused look.

Kamatari spoke, "Yeah, they were a group of battle fan-wielding kunoichi back in the early days of shinobi. Temari is a sort of modern day one, even though the actual group left the deserts years and years ago. She just happened to find out about how to summon us through the fan she uses, and she signed my clan's contract. She's the first human being to summon us in over seventy years."

Naruto turned to Temari with an awestruck look, "Whoa! That's awesome Temari-chan! That makes you sort of an elite amongst wind users."

Temari had the decency to blush, "Please, I'm only a Genin, Naruto. Baki-sensei is much more experienced at using wind nature chakra. I'm only teaching you so he can help work on your other needs, like your taijutsu."

Kamatari chuckled, "Heh, you're quite the sweet talker, aren't you, Naruto?" Naruto simply gave the white weasel a confused look. Sweet talker? He was simply saying that Temari was an awesome kunoichi, nothing else.

"So," Temari said as she regained her composure, "do you want to sign the contract, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned; if Temari summoned this Kamatari for fighting, than he must be good, "Yeah! Sign me up!"

Kamatari gave the boy a toothy grin, "You sure? How about I give you a demonstration first of what I can do first?" Naruto nodded, and Temari stepped back as the weasel somehow floated in the air. Light blue flames floated around the weasel as he gripped his scythe, "See that boulder over there? Watch."

Naruto saw the weasel fly through the air with speed unnatural of an animal to this world. He swung his weapon a few times, and as he passed by the boulder, landed on the ground with amazing gracefulness. Seconds later, the rock broke into clean-cut pieces.

Naruto gawked at the creature, a starry-eyed look on his face, "Whoa! You can cut through rock too?!" He ran up to the weasel, barely able to contain his excitement, "Please let me sign your contract."

The weasel looked over to Temari, who had a somewhat concerned look on her face. She may have the right to summon Kamatari, but she couldn't make the weasel let others summon him as well. That was purely Kamatari's decision.

"I don't know..." Kamatari decided to mess with the boy a little. He had made up his mind the minute Temari mentioned the boy to him yesterday. Kamatari had been waiting for along time to have a male summoner. He had nothing against female summoners, but he was always open for a little change.

Naruto got down on his knees and bowed, "Please, Kamatari! You're attacks are just like mine, and you use wind like me, too! Please, I'll do anything!!!"

Kamatari had to hold back the laughter; the boy was sure persistent, he gave him that. The battle-seasoned weasel summon had a knack for reading others' potential, and he knew right off the bat that the boy had an _immense_ reserve of chakra. More than any of the previous summoners his clan had a contract with. He knew that the boy would prove to be a promising shinobi someday, so why not join him for the ride?

"I'll let you sign my contract," Naruto's eyes lit up, but Kamatari raised a paw, "On one condition."

"What's the condition?" Naruto asked, suddenly getting quiet.

Kamatari leaned over to the boy's ear, "You make sure that girl over there is happy. She's by far the most talented kunoichi I've seen that uses a battle fan in ages. She's told me quite a bit about you, and from what I hear, she's quite fond of you..." Kamatari gave him a serious look, "While it's not my place, being that I'm not from this land, she deserves a good man in her life. I've heard of what she's gone through, and you've made her happy for numerous reasons. Keep it that way, and I guarantee you and her won't regret it."

Naruto blushed, "Ah...um, right...eheheh. So...is that the condition?"

Kamatari nodded, and pulled out a scroll from nowhere, "Do I have your word on that? I won't make the contract void if the conditions are broken, but I can't guarantee that I'll be as willing to help you in battle if they are broken."

Naruto gave the weasel a reassuring smile, "I promise, Kamatari. I'll make sure she's happy."

Kamatari smiled, he was right about the boy afterall, "I thought so. Listen, since Temari only use a fan to summon me, and you don't use a battle fan, you're going to have to learn how to summon me without a fan. There's seven seals involved. There in this order: Tora, Tatsu, Hebi, Tori, Tatsu, Hebi, Tori. Essentially, there's only four seperate seals, but they must be made in that order for you to summon me. Got it?"

Naruto nodded, and the weasel looked to Temari, "Well, looks like we got ourselves a second summoner here."

Temari grinned as she watched Naruto sign the medium sized scroll with his blood-stained finger prints. Kamatari rolled up the scroll, and looked to the boy, "Well, I suppose we should give you a try, eh? Now, understand, if you do it wrong, nothing will happen. I'm the only summon in my clan, so if you don't put in the right amount of chakra, or if you mess up the seals, you won't summon me. So, make sure you know what you're doing."

"Right, I hear you." Naruto gave the weasel a thumbs up, and the weasel vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto bit his thumb, and went through the seals as told, "Tora! Tatsu! Hebi! Tori! Tatsu! Hebi! Tori!" Naruto channeled chakra into his hands, "Summoning Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, Kamatari reappeared with a toothy grin, "Heheh, not bad, Naruto, not bad at all." Kamatari gave the boy a quick pawed salute before vanishing again. Naruto grinned at seeing his success. He was officially a summoner now!

"Temari-chan, thank you! I never thought I'd learn how to summon a cool animal like Kamatari. You're the best!" Naruto smiled and was surprised to recieve a squeezing hug from the blonde kunoichi.

"No problem, Naruto...but it will cost you..."

Naruto stopped grinning, "Cost me...?"

Temari gave the boy a mischevious grin, and Naruto knew it would probably be something embarassing, well, for him at least, "Yeah. I want to go to a festival there having tomorrow. Usually I don't go since there's no one I want to go with...and the loser guys who offer to take me don't even try to get to know me. They just walk around with me arm in arm as though I'm some kind of trophy..."

Naruto grimaced upon hearing this. How could any guy think of Temari as anything less than an amazing girl and a powerful kunoichi? Naruto may not have had much experience with girls, but he did remember the Third Hokage telling him once that you should always treat the opposite gender with respect, and that if you ever take a girl out on a date, that you make sure she enjoys it as much as possible. He laughed at the old man for telling him that, saying that 'girls were weird because they talked about flowers and girly things'. He was only seven at the time though, so he had no idea that this would happen to him five years later. Now, he was trying to recall all those wonderful words of advice he picked up from the wise old-man and from those few pages he read from magazines before the librarians always kicked him out.

"Temari, would you like me to take you to the festival then?"

Temari gave him one of her rare shy smiles. She may be a tough fighter, but she would drop her guard around Naruto. He was different than those other guys she had gone out with. He listened, made jokes, and tried to make her smile whenever possible. He truly meant it when he said that she was pretty. Aside from Naruto, no man alive had seen her act this way, "I would like it if you could."

Naruto only grinned more as he heard this, "Sounds like a plan then. Um...what time-?"

"Be ready at six tomorrow night. Make sure that you shower too; you tend to reek after training." she added and giggled as he pouted.

"Hey, I only smell like that because I really work hard when I train!" he snapped back, trying to defend himself.

She ruffled his hair, "Of course, Naruto. Well, let's head back home. I'm starving."

"Oh, Temari-chan, Gaara said he's baking a cake tonight!"

Naruto noticed Temari's eyes light up a little as her pace suddenly quickened from a walk to a light run. Gaara's desserts were short lived, since the redhead couldn't refuse anyone from eating them. Therefore, if any of the estate's servants asked to try one of his many works, he simply nodded and said they were welcome to do so. Temari was happy that Gaara had become so nice in such a short time, but she really wished that sometimes he'd be a little more favoring for her happiness over others...well, at least when it came to cake and cookies.

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Sasuke breathed in and out heavily as he stood before a rock that was now slowly turning to cooled lava. He had definitely improved, according to Kakashi. A few weeks ago, the best he could get was slighty glossy features on one side of the boulder while the rest was blackened.

"Wow, good job, Sasuke." applauded the Uchiha's sole Genin teammate.

"Thanks, Sakura. It's still not quite what I was looking for, but it's better."

Sakura got up from her spot on the grass where she had been eating a bento box her mother had made, "You hungry at all? I don't have much of an appetite right now, so if you want you can finish my lunch."

Sasuke suddenly felt his stomach rumble with an animalistic roar, "Um...yeah, sure."

Sakura giggled as the Uchiha sat down and literally dug into the bento as he ate the fish and vegetables without stopping.

"Well, someone's been training hard today."

Sakura and Sasuke both looked to see an all too familiar silver haired man leaning against a tree, "Hey, Kakashi-sensei."

"Yo." the Jounin waved to the pink haired girl, then walked over to his duo of Genin, "So, how's the Fire Jutsu coming along, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged, "It's better, but it's not great. I still have a long way to go with it. I managed to melt the boulder though, so it's definitely an improvement from a while back."

Kakashi nodded, and mentally praised the Uchiha for focusing on his improvements instead of focusing on his flaws. While it was important to know your weaknesses, Sasuke had been a serious issue in regards to perfectionism a month back. Ever since Kakashi had upped the training with the two, Sasuke had begun to focus on not what was wrong, but what needed to be improved. It may sound like the same idea, but the attitude was the major difference.

"Good to hear. I'm sure you'll have it down in no time flat at the rate you're going. Make sure you keep up the taijutsu drills I told you about too. How about you, Sakura?" Kakashi asked, turning his head to his female student.

"Well...I've gotten a little better at my genjutsu...but it's still not that powerful. Sasuke was able to breakthrough it without activating his Sharingan twice out of the ten times I used it on him." Sakura said as she looked at the ground.

Kakashi was about to say something when Sasuke spoke first, "Sakura, you're genjutsu is actually quite strong for someone of our level. It just needs more work. I'm sure in due time that you'll be able to trap even Kurenai-sensei in it without her immediate notice."

Kakashi smiled as he saw Sakura beam with a little pride. Sasuke had improved indeed. Instead of being withdrawn and unsupportive, he was giving Sakura encouragement and advice.

"Well, seeing as you're both done for the day, how about we go and get a bite to eat instead of bento? Your choice." Kakashi spoke with a masked grin.

"Ichiraku." they both said simutaneously. Kakashi expected this; they had been going there almost everyday for lunch or supper. He suspected it had something to do with a member of their team that had been gone for about a month and a half. While Kakashi wasn't a huge fan of the food, he couldn't deny that it was good. Besides, it seemed to make Sasuke and Sakura feel better after a hard day of training.

A few minutes later found the trio at the well known ramen bar, and the two Genin were eating with inhuman gusto...well, Sasuke was, while Sakura was merely eating nibbles here and there. Kakashi had already finished his bowl before either of the two could see his face, much to their dismay.

"Um...Kakashi-sensei...?" came the quiet voice of Sakura.

"Yes?"

Sakura looked down into her bowl, "Well, I know that...Naruto...lived his whole life alone without a family, but...well, you were around before he was born, so...do you know who his parents were by any chance?"

Kakashi gave the pink haired girl a surprised look, and wasn't surprised to see Sasuke looking towards the Jounin expectantly as well, "Actually...yes, I knew both his father and mother on a personal basis..."

"You did?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes...but there's a reason why his heritage isn't well known."

Sakura decided to cut to the chase, "Well, who were his parents? Why didn't he ever learn about them?"

"Well, I don't know if it's my position to _tell_ you who they were...but..." Kakashi turned to Ayame, "Ayame, do you think that I could borrow a pen and paper?"

"Sure, Kakashi-san." Ayame went behind the counter, and handed the masked man said utensils.

Kakashi quickly wrote to words on the paper, and casually slided the paper over to Sakura. The words were 'Namikaze' and 'Kushina'.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "So...what do these to names have to-"

Kakashi put up a hand, "Listen, Sasuke, I can't really openly divulge this information to you. However, being that you two are shinobi, you should be able to gather information on these two names. I will give you a hint, they belong to seperate individuals. I can't tell you anything more than that though. You'll understand when you find out the answers."

The two Genin nodded, and after finishing their meals, headed off to the library.

"So, who do you think these two people are, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha shrugged, "Don't know...but the name Namikaze sounds familiar...almost like it was a name that belonged to someone important."

Sakura nodded, feeling the same about the name. It was setting off alarms in her head, but she couldn't put a tab on it.

The two walked to the public archives section of the library, and began to look over the numerous scrolls.

"Namikaze...Namikaze...Nami- ah, here we go." Sakura said after she found a small scroll. She brought it over to a nearby table while Sasuk sat down across from her. They unrolled it, and read over the contents.

As they scanned the contents, both of set of eyes widened, "You...you don't think Kakashi-sensei was pulling our leg, do you?"

Sasuke frowned, but shook his head, "This isn't something to joke around about. Besides, it says right here that this man trained Kakashi."

The two looked over the scroll and shook their heads in disbelief.

"This...this is amazing. Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage...Minato Namikaze?" Sakura said in a whisper.

Sasuke nodded, "I never would have guessed...but it makes sense. You've seen the pictures of the man...they look alike now that I think about it."

They scanned over the contents, and ran across the other name they were looking for, "Kushina Uzumaki...it says that she lived with the Fourth. She was born in the Land of the Whirlpool, and she was married to Minato Namikaze for awhile before she died...the reasons aren't written why though."

Sasuke furrowed his brow. The scroll said nothing about Naruto's birth, or that Kushina had a baby. So...the village kept that information a secret? Sasuke growled, "So, Naruto deserves much better than what he got. He's the heir to a clan that had quite a bit of money and power in Konoha, now that I remember. Minato Namikaze was quite an amazing ninja..."

Sakura frowned, "Not surprising, though, is it? The village treated him like trash for something he had no say in...though it makes alot more sense as to _why_ the Kyuubi was sealed in him of all children. Not only was he born on the night of the attack, but he was the son of the man who sacrificed himself for the village."

"Damn it...the dobe is the son of a legend...the Yellow Flash...wait, that makes sense now...why he wasn't ever informed of his heritage."

Sakura seemed to catch on, "Yeah...the Yellow Flash was hated by almost all of the Earth country and Iwagakure placed a flee-on-sight order for the man during the Third Secret Ninja War...so, the information was also protecting Naruto as well."

Sasuke nodded, "That's why he took his mother's name instead of his father's I guess."

Sakura sighed, and put the scroll back. She needed some time to take all this in. In the past two months Sasuke and she had learned two shocking, and also saddening, secrets about their missing friend's life. He was not only the container of the most powerful bijuu in the world, but he also was the son of one of the greatest ninja to have ever lived.

The two walked out of the library with a thoughtful silence between themselves. Sasuke was wondering how a guy with such a troubled childhood could have dealt with the pain for so long. The fact that Naruto was worthy of much better treatment because of who he was the son of made it even more disturbing. Sasuke was suddenly aware of just how much Naruto never had in his life. He never had a chance to be rocked to sleep by a mother, or taught how to throw a kunai by your father, or to be walked home from the academy by your older brother. Sasuke still thought about avenging his clan...and until he did, he wouldn't feel truly at peace with his life, but for now, he could try and focus on goals that were also important, like preparing for the upcoming Chunin exams, which was only a little less than a month from now. Once he became a Chunin, he would look for leads on the blonde, and hunt him down, and drag him back if he had too.

Sakura was now even more saddened by the background of Naruto's life. First off, he was shunned by his own village for a reason that should have been respected at the very least. He was the only thing keeping the Kyuubi from wreaking havoc on the Hidden Leaf, and the rest of the world. To make things even worse, he was a child of a former Hokage, if not the greatest one of all. He could have been so much happier if he had his parents, if not at least his mother or father. She didn't even try to imagine the pain of living a life alone...it was hard to think of for her. Her mother was her only living parent, but at least she still had someone. Naruto had never had anyone greet him when he came home, and he never had anyone to say the cared about and that they loved him. Humans are social animals, she thought. If a person is rejected by society, it can have horrible effects on a person's psyche.

"Why, Sasuke?"

The boy in question turned to his teammate, and shook his head as they slowly walked down the main road, "I don't know...but it isn't right..."

Sakura tried to hold back tears, but failed. She didn't know why she was crying, maybe it was because she really wished that the blonde was back. Team Seven was a second family to her, and right now her little brother was missing. It hurt, "Why did he have to deal with that pain for so long? You know, now that I think of it, I never saw him bring any food with him during lunch back in our academy days...and he usually never played with anyone. All the kids just chased him away...but they never knew why they were supposed to hate him..." Her shoulders were trembling as she continued, "It's not fair, Sasuke! He couldn't help it!"

Sasuke didn't know what to say. He hadn't dealt with someone crying for a long time. He decided to put an arm around her shoulders, "Sakura...um...listen...when we pass the exams, we'll bring him back. Okay?"

Sakura looked up from the ground, and sniffled a bit, "Y-you truly believe that we can do it?"

Sasuke gave her his best smile...which was a gentle smirk in some ways, "Sakura...I've come to realize that without Naruto around, things are different. I don't know why, but something tells me that he's still out there, and that wherever he is, we'll see him again. I don't want to lose that feeling."

Sakura smiled, "You're right, Sasuke. Naruto's tough, and he would find a way to survive." Sasuke tensed a bit as she leaned her head against him, "Thanks, Sasuke...I needed that."

Sasuke simply nodded and gave a grunt, though the look on his face was clearly a slight hue of red.

Sakura eventually put space between the two again, "So...tomorrow at nine?"

Sasuke noddd, "Sounds fine. I imagine Kakashi-sensei will be there by noon. We may have a mission or two though, so who knows about training."

Sakura smiled, "Well, all the more reason to get our training in," she turned down a street towards her neighborhood, "Bye, Sasuke."

Sasuke waved a farewell as he continued down the less populated section of town. The Uchiha compound loomed ahead, quietly awaiting his presence. Sasuke suddenly stopped as he turned, "Something wrong, Kakashi-sensei?"

The Jounin gave a wave to the raven-haired boy, "Just wondering how your little research project went."

Sasuke frowned, "We found out enough to figure it out..."

Kakashi nodded, "Good. You want to ask me anything about it?"

Sasuke nodded, "I don't know where to begin, but I guess I can ask one question...why?"

"Why what?"

Sasuke sighed, "Why did they not tell him...why didn't they give him what he rightfully deserves to know? He's a Namikaze, and he should have a small fortune and access to numerous scrolls at least. The Yondaime was a great ninja, and I know his wallet showed for it."

Kakashi merely raised an eyebrow, "Why indeed, Sasuke. Why would the village council deny Naruto, the boy who holds _that _within him, any source of wealth or position of power in the decisions made for the Hidden Leaf?"

Sasuke frowned, "I get your point...are they truly that blinded by what he contains within him?"

"Unforutnately, most of them are. A few know the truth, but don't care. To them, the boys a hindrance to their power, so keeping him at bay is the best idea." Kakashi replied with a slow nod.

"Well, once I finally take my place in the council, I'll make sure that this matter is taken into account when Sakura and I bring Naruto back to Konoha." Sasuke spoke with a determined tone.

The silver haired Jounin gave a rare surprised look. He had never seen the Uchiha so certain in his words--aside from avenging his clan--ever in the time he had trained Team Seven. The boy had truly grown, "Well, Sasuke, I can't officially say anything against the council...but unofficially, I can hope that you use your power in the council as you intend to."

Sasuke nodded, and began to walk towards his home. Kakashi watched the boy go, and smiled lightly. Perhaps there was still a possible future for the Uchiha that offered some happiness afterall...

Kakashi made a seal and vanished in a whirl of leaves. He was glad that he had gave the information on Naruto's family to Sakura and Sasuke. The two were truly set on become Chunin, and they were showing promising signs of achieving the rank.

Little did Team Seven know, but within a month's time, their worlds were going to go through some serious changes.

**End of Chapter Eight: Haha, Update no Jutsu!!! Hiya everyone, I finally updated this fic! Winterbreak's here, so I'll try and update more frequently than usual. How you liking it so far? I know a few of you asked about Naruto learning summoning, and I had planned on this from the start. I thought Kamatari was kick-arse, and wish there had more scenes with him (it?). Anyway, yeah, for those who are hardcore SasuSaku fans or anti-SasuSaku, don't freak out yet. As of right now, the two are close **_**friends**_**...nothing more right now. I myself am a NaruSaku supporter, so this is a big step for me: pairing characters I don't fully support...but darn it, I will do it! Heck, maybe Rock Lee will take Sakura's interests, so don't say anything yet! I'm still writing this on the fly, so I haven't fully planned on things yet. Well, until we meet again, keep on reading (and reviewing, lol).**


	9. Among Familiar Faces

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of ideas for disclaimers, so I'm going to do this kind of thing. Come here Lee!**

**Lee: Yosh! Greetings, Denim-san!**

**Denim88: Hello, Lee. Care to do the honors?**

**Lee: I would be happy to. Ahem, Denim88 does not own Naruto, in any way, shape, or form, and is not making any money off of it.**

**Denim88: Wish I was though...**

**Lee: Denim-san, such thoughts are unyouthful!**

**Denim88: Right, right...so, you ready for this Lee? I do believe you'll be making an appearance in the story soon.**

**Lee: If I do not have at least two lines of dialogue spoken in this story, than it shall be twenty paragraphs of monologue for me!**

**Denim88: Lee...you do realize that I'm the writer, right?**

**Lee: Ah, yes, of course. My apologies Denim-san.**

**Denim88: No need for any, just don't go into that big of a monologue for me, and I'll be okay...**

**Chap. 9: Among Familiar Faces**

Orochimaru sat behind the Kazekage's desk with a content look on his veiled face that he had stolen. He was quite surprised with all the information he had managed to obtain from the records and spies within Suna that were actually from Otogakure. He had found out almost immediately that Naruto Uzumaki, or Naro Uzaki as he was being called at the moment, was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. This made his plans much more wonderful for the Hidden Leaf's downfall. However, there was a major wrench thrown into his scheme; Gaara no Sabaku was no longer a cold-hearted killer. Orochimaru had seen the boy himself come in with a plate of cinnamon rolls one morning and hand them out to the numerous ninja in charge of keeping records and handing out missions. The scene, while comical to see the staff cautiously take the morning sweets with wary thank yous, also meant Orochimaru would have to find a different source of firepower for the main attack.

He had that covered though now, he thought with a serpentine grin.

Konoha would burn to the ground within the next two months

9999999

Naruto, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, and Baki were heading towards the gates of Konoha within three days. While Naruto had taken much longer when he left Konoha, this was due to him having to keep a low profile within Fire Country. Now though, he was Naro Uzaki, the rookie Genin of Suna team four, paired with Gaara. Temari and Kankuro were team three, and this caused some frustration with Temari. She had complained about it, but Baki said that the Kazekage himself had ordered it. She said nothing afterwards.

Naruto, on the other hand, was not thinking of that at the moment. As the wooden gates of Konoha loomed in the distance, he began to tense up. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to his left to see the smiling face of Kankuro, "Don't worry, we've got your back, so don't worry. Okay, "Naro"?"

Naruto gave a somewhat relieved grin behind his white scarf covering his nose and mouth, and cheeks. He would have opted for a genjutsu to change his features...but he wasn't that good at holding such a technique for extended periods, and he felt more comfortable with something solid blocking his identity. Luckily enough, his ID didn't require his face to be shown, just a simple picture of his scarved face. He was quite content with that.

"Allright you four, we're in Konoha now. I expect you to represent Suna with the best of your abilities, and give it your best. You're free to roam town, just stay out of trouble, and be at the designated hotel areas for us by seven, understood?"

The four nodded, and Baki turned to Temari, "Oh, and Temari, if you decide to sneak Naro out for a moonlight walk like you did while we were helping guard that caravan two weeks ago, I'll have to make Gaara keep a watch over you." The eldest Sabaku siblings looked to her youngest brother to see him simply nod. Darn it, she suspected Kankuro was involved in this as well. Temari pouted, but said nothing. He was right, that C-rank mission almost turned into a disaster when Temari had made Naruto go with her on a walk at night. When they returned around one in the morning, Baki almost attacked them.

As they entered Konoha, the guards checked their IDs and nodded with approval. Naruto gave out a relieved sigh as they walked down the streets. He immediately had a wave of nostalgia run through him, and he couldn't help but take in a deep breath as he breathed in the slightly forested air.

"Naro...are you going to be okay here?" Gaara asked as the group of four Genin and one Jounin walked to the hotel.

Naruto smiled behind his scarf, "I'll be okay, Gaara. I'm just remembering some things."

Gaara nodded and turned to look at the Hokage Monument, "So...is that the place you managed to paint on?" he asked in a slightly quieter tone. Naruto simply nodded, and if one looked closely, they would have seen Gaara smirk a little. Kankuro chuckled while Temari said something about immature boys. Baki simply rolled his eyes, wondering how such a talented kid like Naruto ever wound up being such an idiot at the same time.

As the group stopped at their hotel, Baki turned to them, "Okay, Naro, Gaara, Kankuro, you'll be sharing room 127, Temari, you'll have room 128. I'll be a couple rooms down in room 144, so if you need me later on I should be there. Now, I have to go report to the Hokage Tower about our arrival. Since we're going to be two of the three two-man teams in the exams, I have to do a few bits of paper work. Konoha is having a team of two enter as well, apparantly they're missing a teammate..." he looked over to Naruto, "...be careful kid. I don't know if your a nuke-nin or not, but either way, you could get into some serious trouble if found out. Stay safe, and stay together." with that, he went towards the Hokage Tower.

Kankuro took a look around, "So...anything worth doing here?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yeah! There's a real cool place where they make ramen called Ichiraku's! The training grounds are okay, my team-"

Temari smacked him over the head, "Naro, don't blow your cover!" she said in a harsh whisper.

"Eheheh...right, sorry." Naruto chuckled as he rubbed his head.

The group went down a turn in the main road, only to have Kankuro get bumped into by a kid. Naro immediately stiffened as he recognized the kid as Konohamaru and his two friends Udon and Moegi.

"Ow...ow..." said the young Sarutobi. Kankuro looked at the kid as he frowned; darn kids...

"Hey, watch where you're going next time..." Kankuro said as he gave the three an annoyed, albeit non-threatening look. He had dealt with Naruto for too long to lose his temper on som annoying little brats.

"Oh...s-sorry about that. I was being chased by this scary pink-haired girl when-"

"_Scary_?! That's it, you die now, Konohamaru!!! For the last time, Sasuke and I are _not _dating!"

Naruto was no wide-eyed. Of all the rotten luck...

"Sakura, calm down, he was only teasing you..." came the quiet voice of Sasuke Uchiha, who was following behind a fuming Sakura Haruno. The two Genin stopped and looked at the four Suna-nin.

"Um...are you four here for the exams?" Sakura asked.

Temari decided to answer, "That's right. We're from Sunagakure, and we're going as two seperate teams."

"Really...we're also a two man team..." Sasuke replied with sudden interest, "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, and this is Sakura Haruno."

Temari nodded, shadowing her worry for Naruto's safety with a grin, "Yep, I'm Temari, and these three are Kankuro, Naro, and Gaara."

The two Leaf-nin looked over the other three Suna nin, and Naruto noticed Sasuke's eyes halt on the blonde for a few seconds. Well...Naruto luckily had his hair mostly covered by his hitai-ite bandana, so he was not too noticeable...he hoped.

Sakura eventually looked at Naro as well, and her eyes seemed to squint a little before she nodded, "Well, I'm sure we'll meet again."

Gaara responded, "I'm sure we will. It was nice to meet you two." the four Suna nin began to walk past the group and down the road.

"Hold on..." came the voice of Sasuke.

Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara all unconciously moved around Naruto while making it look like they were simply turning around to look at the Uchiha, "What?" came Kankuro's reply.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, and looked at Naruto. Naruto forced every bit of will power to make it look like confusion instead of fear. Sasuke may have recognized him.

Sasuke eventually stopped, and deactivated his bloodline, "You...Naro..."

Naruto tried to deepen his voice a little, "Yeah?"

Sasuke was quiet for a minute or two before he talked, "You seem familiar..."

Temari scoffed, "Well, unless a little Leaf-nin like you has been to Suna, I'm sure you never met Naro. He's lived in Suna his whole life."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I'm a Sand-nin afterall."

Sasuke and Sakura seemed to want to ask more questions, but decided not to. Sasuke nodded, "Right. Well, we'll see each other again soon then." and with that being said, Sakura, Sasuke, and the Konohamaru Corps. continued on their way.

After a few minutes passed as the four walked down the road, Kankuro looked to Naruto, "Hey...you okay?"

Naruto shook his head, "I knew those two Genin..."

The three siblings all looked at their blonde friend, and Gaara asked, "Who are they?"

Naruto looked around a bit, then spoke in a hushed tone, "Those two are my former teammates...the ones I told you three about."

Temari nodded, "You had an Uchiha on your team?" Even in Suna the famous Uchiha clan was known about, though from what the Hidden Sand had heard, the clan was almost entirely wiped out.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah...he seems to be less of a jerk than I remember though...and Sakura wasn't being all lovey-dovey around him. I wonder why, though..."

The four finally arrived at the ramen stand, and Naruto had to keep himself from shouting out with joy. He instead walked in and was greeted by a smiling Ayame, "Hello, welcome to Ichiraku Ramen."

Naruto nodded, pleased to see some things hadn't changed while he was gone, "We heard this is a good place to eat."

As the four Suna Genin took their seats, Teuchi walked out, "Ah, you four here for the Chunin exams?"

Temari smiled, "That's right. We're actually two seperate teams. Me and my brother Kankuro here are one team, and my youngest brother Gaara is paired with Naro here."

Teuchi and Ayame nodded, and after that took the foursome's orders. Naruto unfortunately forgot that he had been a legendary eater of the wonderful noodle dish, so when he ordered five bowls of Miso to start things off, Teuchi and Ayame both paused.

"Something wrong?" Naruto asked, eyes giving a concerned look.

Teuchi shook his head, "Sorry...it's just, well, we had a customer that used to start off his meals here in a similar manner. He was one of our best customers, then one day he went on a mission and never came back...we don't know what happened to him..."

"Really? What was his name?" Temari asked, trying to draw attention away from her boyfriend.

"His name was Naruto." Ayame answered, and both of the ramen stand workers had a saddened look on their faces, "He was a wonderful guy, even though he had a very rough life. We would have been giving his meals to him for free most of the time if it wasn't for the fact that he insisted on paying. He was truly a great guy."

Naruto gave the two a sad look, "Oh...well, I'm sure he's okay...I mean...he sounds like he was a ninja, so I'm sure he's all right."

Teuchi and Ayame nodded, then went to make the orders.

After having about twelve bowls of ramen, and having to explain himself by stating he hadn't eaten in three days, Naruto left with a full stomach and a heavy conscious. He didn't know that the old man and his daughter cared so much about him.

"Naro, do you think you could show us around the village? It may prove to be entertaining." Gaara suggested, and recieved a nod from his blonde companion. Kankuro and Temari decided that was a good idea, so they went along.

Naruto showed them the training grounds, and told them a few things he remembered about his numerous days of training here. Eventually they reached a place that Naruto had been telling was dedicated to all of the shinobi who had died in duty, or the Memorial Stone, when the blonde stopped dead in his tracks.

"Naro, what's-" Kankuro was cut off as Naruto pointed ahead at a man with silver hair, his back turned to them as he was standing by the Memorial stone.

"Who is that?" Temari whispered, almost inaudibly.

Naruto waved a hand, which stated, 'I'll tell you later' and was intending to turn around and lead them away when they heard a voice, "Oh...you four must be the two two-man teams I've heard about from Suna."

Naruto stopped, and bit down a curse. He could get past Sasuke and Sakura, and Teuchi and Ayame as well. However...he wasn't so sure about the famous Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan Eye.

Gaara seemed to sense his friend's distress, so he spoke, "That is correct. We are teams three and four of Sunagakure. I'm sorry if we were disturbing you."

Kakashi waved a hand of dismissal, "No worries. I was getting ready to leave anyway."

Temari's eyes suddenly widened in recognition, "Y-you're...Kakashi..."

The Jounin smiled behind his mask, "Ah, I see you've looked me up in the Bingo book. Yes, I'm Kakashi Hatake, otherwise known as the Copy-cat Nin, or Sharingan Kakashi. Pleased to meet you." he gave them a curt wave with a crinkled eye signaling a smile.

Kankuro nodded, "Never thought we'd see a living legend like you."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled, "Heheh, I guess I forget how big my reputation is...well, I am a Leaf nin, so what better village to find me in than here, right?"

The four Genin nodded, and Naruto noticed Kakashi's eyes fall on his own before he smiled. Before anything could be said towards Naruto, Temari spoke, "Well, Kakashi-san, it was a pleasure to meet you. If you don't mind, we must get going."

Kakashi nodded, and his eyes fell on Naruto again before he spoke, "Oh, well, I guess I'll be heading off as well. My team doesn't like waiting more than two hours for me anyway." with that, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, "That was _too_ close."

Kankuro looked at Naruto again, "Don't tell me you know Kakashi Hatake too."

"Eheheh...he was my sensei..." Naruto said as he recieved two suprised looks and one slightly raised eyebrow from Gaara.

Temari took a step forward, "Wait...wait a minute...you're saying that the legendary Copy-cat ninja was your Jounin-sensei???"

Naruto could only laugh, "In all fairness, he never told us about his accomplishments, and he is a really lazy guy if you must know."

The three Sand siblings continued to stare at Naruto, until Kankuro spoke, "Man, Naro, you are full of surprises."

9999999

Sasuke and Sakura stopped at Kakashi's house and stood outside his door. After knocking for two whole minutes, the silver haired man opened the door and raised an eyebrow, "What are you two doing here?"

"We need to talk..." Sasuke replied. Sakura nodded with a serious look, "It's about one of the Suna nin that has arrived here..."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed for a second, then he nodded. So...he wasn't the only one who noticed something off about one of the foreign nin.

As the three walked into the living room of his cozy house, he smiled, "Either of you want something to drink?"

Sakura smiled, "Mint tea would be nice."

"Water." came Sasuke's reply. Kakashi nodded, and walked into the nearby kitchen. As he put the kettle on the stovetop and turned on the burner, he noticed Sasuke frowning.

"Sasuke, Sakura, though I do like having your company, I need to ask why you two are here? It's just...not that common for people to stop over." Kakashi inquired as he walked back to the living room with a glass of water.

Sasuke nodded, but much to Kakashi's surprise, Sakura was the one to talk, "Kakashi-sensei...I think he's back..."

Kakashi set down the glass he was holding on the coffee table that he had with him, "Really?"

Sakura nodded, and continued, "Sasuke used his Sharingan...and the Suna nin we met had very similar eye to what Naruto had...he was kind of short too."

Sasuke looked up, "I think he's joined the Hidden Sand. He has a white cloth scarf around his face, a light brown vest with a gray shirt and pants...and his hair was covered by his bandana hitai-ite...but I saw a few blonde locks poking out in the front."

Kakashi decided to confess to them, "You're probably right Sasuke, I noticed that too," his two students looked up with open mouths, "yes, I met the four ninja too, and I must say, I was quite surprised to see him."

"You told him that knew it was him?!" Sasuke shouted, startling both Sakura and his sensei.

"Relax, Sasuke, I didn't let him know. That would cause problems." Kakashi said, raising a hand to silence the Uchiha. Sasuke calmed down, and let out a 'hn' as he sat back in the chair.

"So...Kakashi-sensei...what do we do? Do we report this to the Hokage?" Sakura asked, a worried tone etched into her voice.

"Already did that." Kakashi replied.

"W-what?! What did the Hokage say?" Sakura said, panic rising again.

Kakashi shrugged, "The Third simply said that he would make sure to keep this between the four of us, and that when the exams start that he would see what he could do. Naruto's still a Leaf nin, if you remember."

"Do we confront him if we see him?" Sasuke asked, folding his hands together in a thoughtful pose.

"No, leave him be. We both know why he left, and it wasn't out of anger or hatred. It was to protect Konoha...it seems he just happened to be unlucky enough to be placed on a team that was selected for the Chunin exams..." Kakashi answered with another shrug. That's when the kettle began to whistle, and Kakashi got up to get Sakura her tea.

When he came back with a hot cup for Sakura, Sasuke looked out the window, "Kakashi-sensei...I know you may have your reasons...but...why _do_ you have the Sharingan?"

Kakashi looked over to Sasuke, and sighed. His features--well, his eyes--seemed to become saddened. He slouched a bit in his couch, "It's a long-"

"We've got nothing else to do, Kakashi-sensei...I hope we're not being rude...but, we've been a team for awhile and...well, we hardly know anything about you. You're practically family, Kakashi-sensei...we'd like to know..." Sakura added after taking a sip of tea.

Kakashi sighed, and gave them both a sad smile. He truly did care for the two of them, so he decided that they deserved to know, "Back when I was a Genin, I was part of a team during the Third Shinobi war. Minato Namikaze was my sensei, and my teammates were named Rin...and Obito Uchiha..."

9999999

Tomorrow the Chunin exams would start, and Gaara and he would be one of the two Suna teams registered in it. In all truth, all four of them would be helping each other in any way possible.

He heard a knock at his door, and walked over to open it. He was surprised to see Baki standing there, "Baki-sensei? What's up?"

Baki nodded, "Evening, Naro. I hope I didn't disturb you."

"No, I was just relaxing. Don't want to go overboard on training before the exams." Naruto smiled, having taken off his scarf for the evening, "Um...do you want to come in?"

"Actually, I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad to have you as a student. You've really improved as a ninja." the Jounin replied, giving a small grin.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay, Baki-sensei...I mean, you've never been mean...but you never act like this..."

Baki chuckled, "Just giving you a wish of good luck. I seriously expect great things from all four of you, especially you and Gaara."

Naruto nodded, "Okay. Well, thanks, Baki-sensei."

Baki gave Naruto a farewell, and walked down the hall as Naruto went back to his room. As soon as he heard the room door close, Baki frowned. He had just recieved word from Suna about the final verdict on the Kazekage's decision. The invasion was green for go, and in another month, things would be less than peaceful in this village. How could he tell Naruto that he was to invade his home, and kill his old friends? He knew that despite what Naruto went through, the boy still cared for his home, just like any honorable shinobi would.

"Damn it...I sometimes wonder how I got suckered into being a Jounin-sensei." the veiled man sighed, continuing to his own room to retire for the night. He was going to need a vacation after all of this was over.

9999999

Temari walked up to room 127, and swallowed nervously. She didn't know why she was so nervous about this...this was Naruto for crying out loud! She forced in some air, let it out, and knocked.

The door opened to reveal a face-paintless Kankuro, "Temari? Hey, what's up?"

Temari looked to the ground, and whispered, "Is Naro in there?"

Kankuro smiled a genuine smile, "Temari, I know they say there's death in the exams, but come on...we're Suna nin. He'll be okay."

Temari nodded, "I know, but...can you please go get him?" she gave him a rare concerned look, and he simply nodded.

"Naro, Temari wants to talk to you." Kankuro called into the room, and a moment later, Naruto was standing at the door in a black t-shirt with orange boxers.

"Hey, Temari-chan...um...it's eleven o' clock, anything wrong?" the blonde boy asked, a curious tone in his voice.

Temari shook her head, "I'm fine, Naro...I just wanted to talk to you. Why don't we go to my room? More privacy that way." she said noddig to the room on the opposite wall labeled 128.

Naro blushed a little, but nodded. Before they shut the door, Gaara called back, "Naro, be back before midnight, we're waking up at seven in the morning."

Naruto sighed; Gaara was like a parent in some cases ever since he changed, "Sure thing, Gaara."

The two walked into Temari's room, and shut the door. Naruto turned around when he walked into the room to see Temari sitting on her bed already and her hands clenched around her nightgown at her knees.

Naro immediately knew something was wrong, "Temari-chan...?"

Temari looked up at him, and gave him a strained grin, "I'm fine, Naruto..."

"Uh huh, and Kankuro's outfit is this season's most popular style in _Teen Kunoichi_. Temari-chan, you can tell me..."

Temari's bottom lip quivered a bit, and she was screaming inside her mind to stop. She couldn't though; Naruto was too important to her for her not to worry, "Naruto...I'm worried about you."

Naruto gave her a confused look, "What about me? Do I look sick?"

Temari laughed, "No, no...it's not anything to do with you specifically, it's more about you being in Konoha, and the exams."

Naruto smiled, "Oh, well don't worry about me! All four of us are going to kick butt in the exams! Kankuro's got a few jutsu to fall back on if he can't use his puppets, you're the strongest kunoichi I've ever met, and Gaara's gotten alot stronger and faster, not to mention he doesn't have bloodlust anymore," he stretched his smile into a full blown grin, "We'll do great!"

"It's not just that...what if they find out who you are? I mean, you're a missing nin, and that's grounds for execution! I don't want to see you get killed or arrested! They'll...they...they'll ki-kill you, and...a-and I'll be...I'll be alone again!" she couldn't hold it back anymore. These past two to three months had been some of the happiest days of her entire life. Naruto Uzumaki had come into her life, half alive and covered in sand. She took him into Suna, expecting to simply recruit another Genin for cannon fodder, but ended up taking in the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. A boy who had never been loved, never known the joy of a family...

...just like her. Well, Kankuro loved her like a brother, but still, she never had a loving father, and her mother died giving birth to her youngest brother Gaara when Temari was barely able to form a full sentence. Naruto had changed everything for her, and all of Suna. He brought Gaara out of the darkness, and changed the outlook on his life for the better. All Naruto asked for in return was food, shelter, and a team. Well, not even a team, that had been Temari's idea.

Naruto was stunned. He never knew that Temari felt like that without him. He sat next to her on the bed, and held her, recieving an immediate bone cracking hug, "Temari-chan...why didn't you tell me you felt like this sooner? How long have you been worrying about this?"

Temari stopped crying and leaned her head against the shorter boy, "I've been thinking about this ever since we left Suna. I realized just how much danger you're in right now. You left Konoha, and then you joined Suna. It's not exactly the best thing for a young Genin to do."

Naruto nodded, "Temari, I made my choice, and I know that if I had wanted to that I could have turned down the chance to enter the exams...but I felt that I was ready..."

Temari smiled, "Naruto...I..."

Naruto put a hand up to interrupt, "Temari, we're shinobi. We need to be ready for anything, right?"

She sighed, "You're right."

Naruto chuckled a bit, "Was that all you were worried about, Temari-chan?"

She smiled with a slight blush, "Not really...but most of it was about that."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, "What else was on your mind?"

She looked down. This is what she was worried about...saying this could determine how the rest of her days with Naruto would be like. She mumbled something, but Naruto didn't catch it.

"What was that, Temari-chan?"

"I love you." she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Naruto froze in place, and looked at her with shining blue irises, "Wh-what?"

"I said I love you, Naruto..." she said, and took in a deep breath to continue, "You're the sweetest guy I've ever met...and no, I'm not just saying that. Even after all the things I make you go through, you still are happy to be with me. I have to admit, I'm a bit demanding in a relationship, I won't deny that. I mean, yes, we've been dating...but that's just it...only boyfriend and girlfriend...nothing more. I feel so much more from you than that though."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had practically stopped listening when she said she loved him, "T-Temari-chan..."

She raised a hand, "Just let me finish, I need to get this out, okay?" Naruto nodded, "Naruto, I feel a sense of joy and comfort when I'm around you, as cliche as it sounds, it's true. No one has _ever _made me feel like this..." she smiled at him, and grabbed his hands, "Naruto...you're the first person that's made me feel genuinely happy in ages...thank you. You've helped my life become better, and helped my family as well. I owe you a debt I can never truly repay...however, I just want you to know that you are the only boy I have eyes for, and I want you to know that. No one else can compare to what you have."

Naruto was tearing up now. He wasn't sure if he was ready to hear this though, "How can you love me, Temari-chan? I'm...I'm..." he was falling back to his old seven year-old self, "...everyone hates me, no matter who I see, they look at me with disgust. I don't want you to go through with that, Temari. Besides, I'm not rich or famous either. You could have so many better choices than me...you're the daughter of the Kazekage for crying out loud! Why would you go for an orphaned Genin when you can be with almost any Jounin or lord in all of Wind Country..." Naruto's eyes dimmed a bit, "Besides...none of them are monsters or beasts..."

The slapping sound resonated throughout the room as Naruto fell of the bed and onto the floor. He looked up to see a very angry and very upset Temari no Sabaku with tears in her eyes, "Stop that..."

"Stop wha-"

"Stop saying that you're a monster, beast, or whatever relates to the demon inside of you..." she let the tears fall, "Naruto, you _know _that you aren't the Kyuubi. You are so much more than that. You may hold it within you, but you are not a demon. To use that awful power for a cause like protecting me, my brothers, and Suna...that is not what a demon would do...no, you are a hero, Naruto. You may not know it, but more than a few Jounin and Chunin in Suna are aware of what you did. They felt the chakra, and they know it was like Gaara's...yet they saw you use it for a righteous cause...that's what seperates demons from heroes..."

Naruto was once again speechless as Temari gave him a hand and pulled him back up to the bed, "You...you really mean that?"

Temari nodded, "Yes...and I know you will never be a monster...you promised me that..."

Naruto nodded, "That's right...and I never go back on my word...um...Temari...?"

The older blonde noticed Naruto's voice was laced with worry, "Yes, Naruto?"

"Do you really mean that when you say you love me?"

Temari laughed, but then realized that Naruto was serious, so she gave him a warm smile as she looked into his eyes, "Naruto...I truly love you. Not some stupid infatuation, but real, honest-to-good love. This isn't a family love either, I see you as more than family to me."

Naruto was shaking a bit, and he admitted to himself that he was scared. He had no idea how to react to such a statement. Someone _loved _him???

Temari saw him, and smiled, "You not sure how to take this, eh?" Naruto nodded, "Naruto...what does your heart tell you?"

Naruto sat on the bed, looking at the floor, "I feel happy about this...but, it's just that...no one...has ever said that to me..."

"Well, then consider me the first to tell you. I'll say it as long as I can; I love you..."

Naruto soon felt his own eyes tearing up, and he held the older blonde close, "Temari-chan..."

Temari smiled as she practically cradled the younger boy. Two years difference was the gap between them, but right now, Temari felt like a much younger part of Naruto was being seen; the young orphan part of Naruto that never recieved any attention or care from anyone.

Naruto was soon sobbing a bit, while trying to stifle the crying he was making, "Thank you, Temari-chan, I love you too..." he whispered after he finally stopped.

The two sat in each others' arms for about five minutes before Temari finally let go, "Well...that's about all I wanted to say..."

Naruto laughed a bit, wiping away a few tears on his cheek, "Heheh...well glad you told me."

The wind maiden smiled at him, "Naruto, make sure to wake up early, we've got a big day tomorrow, and you know how Gaara gets when everyone else sleeps in while he hardly gets a wink."

Naruto nodded, and walked to the door, "Right, I'll get to bed as soon as I can." he opened the door, but was surprised when he felt an arm get pulled back. He looked to see Temari right next to him.

Temari bit her lower lip nervously, then hesitated. She slowly inched closer to Naruto's face, and then captured him in a kiss. No tongue, just a simple, chaste kiss.

Naruto's eyes were wide as can be as Temari was lip-locked with him. He slowly managed to return the favor in his inexperienced way, and eventually the two parted, "So...uh...do I get to expect those from you more often?" Naruto inquired, earning a bop on the head from Temari.

"Baka, don't ruin the moment...and if you must now, yes, expect more of them from now on." she said while winking at him.

9999999

Naruto came back to room 127 with a small smile on his face. He looked to see Gaara sitting on the sofa watching a cooking show with a mildly amused expression. Kankuro was snoring in his bed. It was about ten to midnight.

"Naruto, glad to see you're back. I was worried that I would have to break down the door and risk seeing things that I would later regret..." Gaara said, and Naruto immediately caught on to the sand user's joke.

"Very funny, Gaara. Nothing happened like that if you must know. Temari did tell me something very important though." Naruto said with a yawn.

Gaara turned to the blonde, "What was that?"

"She said she loves me. She meant it too." Naruto said as he crawled into his bed, and pulled the sheets over himself.

Gaara raised an eyebrow, but soon smiled a little. Naruto had made Temari happy, and Naruto was happy as well. He wasn't by any means romantic, but Gaara knew that people who care for each other were usually happy together. The two seemed to be no exception.

As Gaara heard the quiet snoring of Naruto, he thought of how things had changed so much over the past two months and some odd weeks. Naruto Uzumaki had indeed been the greatest thing to happen to the sand user's family.

Gaara continued to watch the show as the chef began to cut the fish he had into various pieces. He took a pen and paper next to him and began to write down notes. He had seemed to gain an interest in culinary arts it seemed...partly due to Naruto wanting only to eat ramen, which was a rarity in Suna. Gaara decided that while ramen was good in it's own right, it wasn't the greatest thing for you. He therefore took it upon himself to learn how to cook. So far, he was good at baking...and that was about it. He was bound and determined to get better at preparing dinners though.

"Add half a tablespoon of lemon juice into the sauce..." Gaara said to himself as he wrote down the instructions. He wouldn't be going to bed anytime soon, so why not make the time worthwhile?

9999999

The following morning the four had a quick meal provided by the hotel, and after some preparations and self checking of all gear they needed being present. At ten o' clock in the morning, they went as two seperate groups to the Konoha academy where they were to begin the exams.

Naruto and Gaara were to report to the third floor and wait there.

Naruto and Gaara were standing in front of a small group of Genin that were trying to get into the room being blocked by two Chunin. Naruto felt that something was off. The Chunin said that none of them had what it takes to be a Chunin, and should just leave. Naruto stood there, and looked to see the room number indicated they were on the third floor. Gaara walked up to Naruto, "So, you noticed it too?"

Naruto nodded, and whispered, "Yeah...how can we be on the third floor when we only went up one flight of stairs? It must be a genjutsu..."

Naruto and Gaara saw Temari and Kankuro walking up to the next flight of stairs. Temari turned around and gave Naruto a wink. Naruto immediately blushed, and Kankuro quietly chuckled as the four walked up the stairs, "I was wondering if you two would catch on to that." Kankuro called back as they went up the steps.

Gaara looked back, and noticed a few others walking towards the stairs, "Well, if one can't even count the number of floors they have been on, then they shouldn't even consider being a shinobi."

As the three walked up to the third floor, they noticed a few other groups enter a room near the end of the hall. It was one of the larger rooms, Naruto noted.

The four entered the room and patiently waited. Naruto soon noticed Team Ten, Team Eight, and a group of Genin from the previous year enter. Team Seven was the last to enter that were Leaf nin. Naruto quietly listened in as the group talked amongst themselves, and noticed a certain Leaf nin with glasses approach the group.

Apparantly the man's name was Kabuto, and he had taken the exam seven times already. That sounded a little weird, but Naruto didn't say anything. He watched as the young man pulled out a stack of blank cards, and applied some chakra to one.

"Ah, here we go. Gaara no Sabaku. He's completed about sixteen B ranks, and twel-"

The card ripped into pieces as a small wind blew by them. Kabuto turned to Naruto, who gave the man a smile behind his scarf, and shook a finger at him like an adult scolding a child caught sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar. Kankuro laughed as Temari grinned at the group of Konoha nin. Gaara remained unexpressive, but did look at the man named Kabuto with a certain interest.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and much to Naruto's surprise, smirked at the boy, "Naro, I look forward to seeing what you can do in the exams," the Uchiha called over to Naruto. Naruto nodded with a gleam in his eyes.

Suddenly there was an explosion of smoke, and a loud voice interrupted the talking amongst the group, "All right, that's enough talking maggots!" everyone turned to the new voice, and a few shuddered as a wave of killer intent was unleashed over the group by a man with various scars over his face. With him were a group of Chunin and Tokubetsu Jounin, "I'm Ibiki Morino, and I will be the proctor of the first part of the exams. Now, everyone follow me into the next room and await to be seated."

Naruto gave his three friends a smile as his eyes crinkled into a smile, teeth unseen by his scarf, "Well, good luck you guys. I have a feeling we'll need it."

And so began the first phase of the Chunin exam.

**End of Chapter Nine: So, I finally got this far! I was waiting for this moment, and I finally got here. As you can see, Kakashi is already aware of Naruto, and so are Sakura and Sasuke. This should change things for the groups in the exams; there will probably be far less deaths with Gaara being more peaceful than before. Also, in case you were not aware, Sasuke and Sakura are a bit stronger than they were at this point in the canon. Sasuke's already unlocked the second tomoe of his Sharingan, and Sakura has a fair grip of Genjutsu and better Taijutsu. Naruto and the Sand siblings have also improved and are stronger than they were at this point in the canon series. Expect this to change a few things...and not change others. Also, as of now, Sasuke and Sakura are **_**friends**_**...okay...not a couple, but**_** friends!!!**_** Okay, I'm done with the awesome post chapter note. Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think.**


	10. Let the Exams Begin!

**Disclaimer: Well, I just recieved word that Kishimoto loves my idea so much that he wants me to have co-ownership with- (ducks to avoid kunai)...I mean...I don't own Naruto...**

**Chap. 10: Let the Exams Begin!!!**

Sarutobi sat quietly in his office while he looked through a crystal ball that he used from time to time. He smiled as he noticed the all too familiar face--well, it was covered, but still familiar--of Naruto Uzumaki. Just by looking at the blonde, the Third Hokage could tell that the boy had indeed grown and improved.

"So...that's Minato's son, eh?" came the quiet voice of the elderly man's former student.

Sarutobi nodded, "Yes, that's Naruto all right. He's wearing a Suna hitai-ite it seems...Kakashi was right." he let out a sigh, and let the image vanish, "Well, at least he's continued his training..."

"You seem a bit worried, old man. What's up?" Jiraiya asked as he got up from his spot against the wall.

"Nothing really...it's just...Naruto really doesn't know his heritage...and I hate the fact that I can't tell the boy right now. He deserves to know." replied the Hokage with a sad expression. Jiraiya silently agreed with a nod.

The two said nothing for awhile, and eventually Jiraiya went to the window, "Well, I'm gonna go get some fresh air. I'll see you later. Expect me back by the end of the Second Phase of the exam."

Sarutobi nodded, knowing full well what his student would be doing. He would normally say something about it, but he didn't have the patience to deal with the Toad Sannin. He simply tipped his hat down a bit, and lit his pipe. He would have to get back to his paperwork soon, and that normally meant a good portion of the day being gone because of it.

"Naruto...I can only hope you don't hold any anger towards the Hidden Leaf...though you may have been through hard times, those who do care for you miss you deeply." the elderly Kage said as he picked up his brush. The paperwork couldn't do itself, afterall.

10101010

"Naro, stop the griping already." Kankuro said with a hint of annoyance. Naruto hadn't shut up for the last two minutes now.

"Written test? What the heck is that all about???" Naruto asked under his breath.

"Hey, pipe down back there!" yelled Ibiki, and Naruto did.

Eventually all the shinobi present in the room were given a number, and soon enough everyone was seated. Naruto looked around quickly. In the back was Gaara, sitting patiently with his eyes closed. About two rows behind in the right isle Naruto was Temari, and Kankuro was over to Naruto's right about two isles forward.

"Okay, listen up, because I won't be repeating myself. You have one hour to complete this test. All of you will be starting with ten questions, each one being worth one point. Now, unlike the traditional test, all of you will start this test with perfect scores..." Ibiki took a minute so everyone could take the information in, "However, with every question you get wrong or don't answer, you lose a point. Your points will be added together as a whole on what your teammates have gotten."

Naruto banged his head against his desk, "Why...why, why, why..?"

"For Konoha Team Seven and Suna Teams Three and Four, you six will have a slightly different scoring. Instead of a possible thirty points, you'll be recieving only twenty. Unfortunately, that means less points to have..." Ibiki's face scanned the room, "Any teammates who are unable to answer a single question within the hour will cause their teams to automatically fail..." There were a few shouts of protest, but Ibiki's face only darkened, "Silence!" and the room went quiet again, "By the way...anyone foolish enough to be caught cheating will recieve a two point reduction...get caught five times, and your team fails..." another wave of murmuring was heard before Ibiki finished, "...your tenth question will be given at the end. Now then...begin!"

Temari chanced a peek to look at Naruto, who had his head in his hands, eyes wide, and was positively trembling, _'Naruto...'_ she thought before turning around.

As soon as the test began, Naruto was staring at his test, wondering what the heck he should do, _'Okay...don't panic...we've got an hour to do this...no big deal...just look over the questions, and see what you can answer...' _Naruto looked over the first question,_ 'Okay...deciphering a code...forget that one...'_ Naruto was starting to sweat beads, but he went onward.

10101010

Sakura was going through the questions at a rapid fire pace, yet something was bugging her, _'Geez...these questions are most likely beyond the level of most Genin...only a handful of us here, myself included, know any of them...how do they expect us all to know them?'_ Sakura went on to the third question, the whole while hoping Sasuke knew at least _some _of the answers.

Sasuke meanwhile was looking over the second question, having managed to get a rough idea of how to answer the code,_ 'Let's see...shuriken trajectory...' _he read over it, _'Man...this is way too complicated for a Genin...I mean...throwing on the field is one thing, but explaining it? How can we...wait...'_ Sasuke's eyes widened a little, _'That's it...they want us to cheat...that guy wants to see just how good we are at gathering information without getting caught...'_ the Uchiha smirked, '_Hn, well, this will be alot easier now...' _he activated his Sharingan and looked for the nearest shinobi who seemed to know the answers, hoping he'd be able to mimic their movements. Coincidentally, it happened to be Sakura, _'I'll have to thank you later, Sakura.'_

Sasuke quickly answered the third question as Sakura wrote it at a quick pace. With her being a whiz at shinobi knowledge, their team would pass, no problem.

10101010

Shikamaru Nara was by no means a 'go-getter' as they would say. He was, in all fairness, lazy. He had some of the worst participation grades at the academy, and he only showed his intelligence in the tests that were taken. Fortunately for him and his team, written tests were right up his alley; easy. He had already answered four of the questions, and was getting started on the fifth when he saw his fellow teammate Ino slump over.

_'Heh, about time she worked her technique on someone...' _he turned to see Sakura slump over a bit before looking up again and scanning over her test. Shikamaru held back a laugh, and turned quickly to see Chouji do the same. Ino sure was troublesome, but she was helpful when she needed to be.

10101010

Tenten had managed to successfully hang an array of mirrors in the room while the proctor and Chunin weren't looking. Now she was turning them so Lee would be able to see them, thus helping him copy down some of the answers.

Meanwhile, Neji Hyuuga was using the Byakugan to see through one of the shinobi who had what it seemed to be a vast knowledge in the principles of assassination. He carefully copied down the answer while scanning ahead to see Tenten doing her part to help Lee. Team Gai was a team of the year previous in Konoha's Genin graduates...and they were well prepared for this exam.

10101010

"Arf." came the quiet bark of Akamaru as he scanned the surrounding area, giving Kiba Inuzuka the necessary answers. Kiba gave the occasional thanks as he wrote down the answers his companion barked out. Luckily, no one else knew how to communicate with dogs...or at least he hoped that was the case.

Shino had just gotten a message back from a fly he had sent out, and copied down the answer the fly had given him through signals and movements made by the tiny insect. Shino nodded as the bug went off to collect the next answer.

Hinata occasionally activated her Byakugan, seeing through a man who had quite a bit of knowledge in proper technique in executing an A-rank Water based jutsu while in a desert. Little to her knowledge, if she focused on the boy to her left she would have been looking at the blonde boy that she had admired for so long.

10101010

Kankuro had just successfully gotten to the bathroom with his 'escort'. He know began writing down the answers on a tiny scroll. Meanwhile, Temari sat there, a bit irked that she only was able to answer one question. Sooner or later Kankuro would return with the other questions needed...she hoped so at least...

Gaara had managed to get some information with the use of his _**Daisan no Me**_, and was now copying down what he could see with the floating eye of sand. However, as he continued to scan around for another possible shinobi with possible answers, his third eye noticed Naruto was having...trouble. Naruto was currently beating his head with both his fists, the whole time grumbling something about 'stupid tests'. Gaara sighed, and slowly dissolved his third eye of sand. He then made his sand slowly trickle over to Naruto.

Naruto was growling in frustration when he noticed a small cloud of sand forming near his hands. He immediately knew it was Gaara, and eventually a floating eye of sand formed. It turned towards Naruto's paper, then to Naruto again. A small trickle of sand crawled onto his paper and spelled out the words 'Need help?'. Naruto nodded, and saw the eye look to question four. The sand began forming words, and Naruto copied down the answer. Eventually he had three questions down, and Naruto gave the eye a small grin behind his mask before the eye dissapeared.

As Gaara called back his sand, he couldn't help but let a small smile cross his features. Naruto was by no means a prodigy, but neither was the Sand user. Naruto, however, was not one to quit, and the two would do whatever it took to pass this exam.

10101010

The hour was just about up, and already more than a third of the shinobi that had been in the room were gone now due to getting caught cheating. Ibiki looked at the time, and nodded, "Allright, seeing as it's almost the end of our little test, it's time for the tenth question. Now, before we go into that, I will give you a choice..." the silence in the room was broken as Kankuro entered the back door of the room with his 'escort' again. As the Puppet Master walked down the isle, he tossed a very miniscule scroll on Temari's table. She merely glanced at it, and quickly hid it in her hands.

_'Allright...the tenth question...I've got this!' _Sakura thought as she rubbed her head. Somehow in the middle of the exam, she had dozed off briefly, and now she was feeling like someone had poked at her mind for the last ten minutes...regardless, she had all nine questions answered.

"The tenth question is an all or nothing deal. If you choose not to answer the question, you will lose all your points, and leave the exams, and be allowed to participate next time..." a few shouts of surprise were ignored as he continued, "Should you choose to answer the question and get it wrong though...you'll remain Genin forever!"

"What?! That's ridiculous!!!" came the voice of Kiba as he pointed at the scarred Tokubetsu Jonin before the group of Genin.

"Well, it's your choice...take the tenth question...or pass it by for another day...keep in mind though, your decision will affect the others in your team, and they'll meet the same fate as you do..." Ibiki replied, followed by a bit of chuckling. Already a few of the remaining Genin were getting nervous.

"Allright then, those who wish to leave, raise your hand and state if you wish to quit or not. You and your teammates' numbers will be marked, and you are then free to leave." Ibiki added, and after a few minutes, about half of those who had been in the room where gone.

Naruto was frozen again. Genin forever??? Oh man, that would definitely not be good if he planned on being a great Suna nin someday! He was about to raise his hand, when he stopped himself, and shouted out in both frustration and determination, "Gahh!! No way will I give up now! My teammate and I have come to far to give in now!" he sat down in his seat, not budging an inch. A small grin crept on Ibiki's face.

Ibiki looked to his Chunin assistants, and saw them nod. It was time, "Very well...for those of you who decided to take the tenth question..." there was a tense silence as Ibiki looked at them all, "...you all pass." he had a grin on his face now, and was looking over the faces of the remaining Genin.

The quiet that followed was priceless. Not a single breath was made, and if someone dropped a pin, it would have echoed at least several times before it stopped.

"What?!?!" came the voices of several awestruck and confused Genin. Naruto was standing up and looking bug eyed with this new information.

"I said 'you all pass'." he repeated, and almost immediately Naruto was laughing in a mixture of relief and joy. He passed, he and the others had passed!!!

Ibiki went on to explain the importance of information gathering of shinobi, and what it meant to risk it all for the good of your team. Naruto was a taken back a bit when he saw the various scars on Ibiki's head; the man had suffered a lot torture it seemed.

Just as the leader of the ANBU Interrogation and Torture Department finished his speech, a black blur crashed through the side window. The black mass unfurled to reveal a banner and a rather...interesting kunoichi. The bannner read "Here Comes the Second Chunin Exam Proctor, Anko Mitarashi!" in bold white lettering.

"Allright Genin, I'm Anko Mitarashi, and I'll be the proctor of the second phase! Ready? Okay, then let's go!!" cried the woman, and an awkward silence followed as she remained with her hand pumped in the air.

Ibiki sighed, "Anko...you're early...again..."

Anko had a look that could only be described as embarassment, "Oh..." she scanned the room, and a frown crossed her face, "Ibiki, there's still too many of them here. You made your test too easy!" she spoke with a dissaproving look.

"Maybe this group is just more talented than the previous years..." Ibiki shot back in a calm voice, recieving a 'hmph' from the purple haired woman.

"Well, either way, the numbers will be less than half when I'm through with them by tomorrow." she said with an unmistakeable grin of mischief on her face. A few of the Genin shuddered.

10101010

The night came quickly as Naruto sat on the roof of his hotel. He had gone off on his own to get some fresh air, and was currently engrossed with the stars in the sky right now.

"Naro, would you mind if I join you?" came the quiet voice of Gaara. Naruto turned and simply nodded to the younger boy.

The sand user sat there for awhile before he spoke again, "You've been distant...that's not like you..."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah...I just needed some time to myself," Naruto then remembered something, "Oh yeah, thanks for the help today..."

Gaara nodded, "It's what friends do, isn't it?" Naruto gave a grunt of agreement as he continued to watch the heavens above them.

The two were quiet for awhile before Naruto decided to speak again, "Hey, Gaara...what do you think will happen tomorrow? I mean...that didn't sound all that good from that crazy woman; I mean, more than half of us will be eliminated?"

"I'm not sure, but I have confidence that you and I as well as Nee-san and Kankuro will do fine." Gaara replied as he watched the moon above.

Naruto sighed, "I hope your right...because I'm pretty sure I would have dragged us down today if the whole thing was merely a test to see what we would do for our team...I mean, I'll be honest, Gaara, I'm an idiot when it comes to that written stuff."

"That may be, but that doesn't mean you are any less of a ninja. You and I were chosen to represent Suna for a reason, Naro. Especially you; you're wind manipulation has improved greatly since we first battled each other." Gaara said while turning to look at his best friend.

Naruto smiled, "Thanks, Gaara...I just hope we can get through this like you say we will."

Gaara and Naruto continued to watch the sky quietly; it had been a sort of tradition of theirs. They would watch the stars and talk a little while enjoying the view.

Around nine o' clock Naruto got up and stretched, "Well, I'm going to grab a bowl of ramen, want to come along?"

Gaara's mouth lifted at the corners in a small smile, "No thank you Naro. I'm going to go meditate for a while here."

Naruto gave a wave to the sand user as he left. Another thing Gaara had picked up on over the couple of months; meditation. He felt alot better when he did it, and it helped him remain controlled and calm like he always seemed.

Naruto pushed aside the curtains of the ramen stand when he finally arrived. Though Ayame went home for the night, and Teuchi was the lone person running the place, there was a customer. It was a familiar boy with black hair, and he wore a blue shirt with a fan-like design on the back.

"Teuchi-san, one more bowl for the night, please." came the quiet voice of Sasuke Uchiha as he ordered another bowl of beef ramen. Naruto was about to just exit and hope no one saw him, but unfortunately, Teuchi spotted the masked boy.

"Ah, welcome back. You're the Suna nin from yesterday, right?" asked the old man as he spotted Naruto.

Naruto deepened his voice a little, "Yes, I'm him. Just thought I would get a bite to eat."

Sasuke turned around, and for a moment, surprise was visible in his eyes before he hid his expression, "Naro, nice to see you again." the Uchiha greeted.

Naruto was still not used to Sasuke being so...well...socialable, "Yeah...same here Sasuke." Naruto sat down a seat away from the raven haired boy.

Sasuke knew he that it was Naruto; the ninja was short as the blonde, and the fact that the boy ordered a _large _bowl of miso pork was a dead give away...well, sort of...the fact that Kakashi confirmed that it was Naruto helped, Sasuke admitted. Part of Sasuke wanted to grip the idiot by his collar and knock some sense into him for being stupid and leaving the team...yet another part remembered that Naruto had a...a burden that made things like that likely to happen.

Sasuke watched as Naruto turned around so his back was facing the Uchiha. He pulled up his mask a little so his mouth could slurp down some of the noodles. He turned around, and noticed the Uchiha looking at him, "What?"

Sasuke smirked, "Nothing...just never thought I'd see someone who ate ramen so fast before..."

Naruto stiffened for a second before he forced out a nervous laugh, "Heheh, well, back in Suna, ramen is a rarity, and I happen to like it. So, I find it hard to hold back from inhaling it."

Sasuke nodded, "You know...my friend Chouji said once that people who like Ichiraku's are good people in general. I guess that statement holds true with you as well." Sasuke turned to his new bowl, and blew on the noodles before picking up a small strand with his chopsticks.

Naruto looked over to the boy, and a thought crossed his mind, _'He's...friends with Chouji?' _Naruto almost couldn't believe the Uchiha being friends with anyone...but, he suppposed being gone for three months or so could change anyone.

Sasuke could tell that Naruto was watching him, and he knew that giving that little line that Chouji often used sparked surprise in the blonde. In all honesty, Sasuke had become friends with Team Ten as a result of Sakura putting aside her differences with Ino, and the two had become good friends again. Apparantly they both had gotten over their fangirl days...and Ino said she was interested in someone else anyway, but she wouldn't tell even Sakura about it. Sasuke found that Shikamaru happened to be a real mastermind in Shogi, and Chouji was actually a real nice guy once you got to know him. Ino...well, she was bossy, but Sakura could be too. Nevertheless, Team Seven and Ten had become good friends.

"Well, that Chouji must be right, since I do love this stuff. It sure beats instant ramen anyday!" Naruto said with some enthusiasm. Sasuke merely nodded in reply.

The two shared some small talk about what they thought of the first part of the exams. Sasuke admitted that he only got to the first question before he got lost, and Naruto in turn admitted that he didn't know where to begin on the test. After some time passed it was going onto eleven thirty when the two boys put down their money and bid Teuchi good night.

Naruto was walking with Sasuke when the Uchiha spoke up, "So...any ideas as to what the second part may be?"

Naruto was for the upteenth time amazed that Sasuke was trying to make small talk, "No clue...but that woman was scary..." The two both gave a cringe before resuming there walk. Sasuke eventually turned down towards the gloomy and empty road that lead to the Uchiha Compound. Naruto headed towards his hotel in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Naro..." Naruto turned as Sasuke called to him, "...good luck tomorrow...but if we do go up against each other in a fight or something, don't expect to win easily against me."

Naruto was grining behind his cloth, "Heheh, I should say the same to you, Sasuke. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sasuke watched as the blonde went onward. He let a small chuckle escape his throat, "Heh...still a dobe..." he turned to continue his walk, "...I'm glad you're still the same guy, Naruto."

10101010

Naruto walked into the door of his room to meet the frowning face of Temari, "Oh, uh...hey, Temari-chan!"

Temari said nothing, but as Naruto looked behind his girlfriend he noticed Kankuro mouthing the words 'You're dead!' while making a motion similar to punching someone's face in, then pointing to Temari. Naruto visibly paled.

"Naruto...where were you?" the blonde kunoichi asked as she took a step forward, looking down on the shorter boy.

"D-didn't Gaara tell you?" Naruto stuttered, sensing the killer intent radiating off her. Why was she so mad?

"I didn't ask him...I like to respect his privacy, and he likes to remain undisturbed when he's meditating." the girl replied as she cracked her knuckles.

"Oh, well, I went to go get some ramen." Naruto decided to leave out the part of running into Sasuke. Nevertheless, Temari was still angry.

"Well, I was hoping to spend some quality time with you, but apparantly you love those noodles more, so I can understand." she sounded more hurt than anything now.

"Temari-chan, you know that's not true." Naruto looked at the clock on the wall, "We can go and hang out together still; we've got an hour and a half!"

Temari smiled a bit, "Okay...but I'm still not happy that you went and left us like that."

Naruto took her by the hand and led her outside. He let go and told her to follow him. Eventually they were standing at the foot of the stairs that led up to the Hokage Monument, "Come on, Temari-chan, I want to show you the best view in all of Konoha!"

Temari folllowed him up the numerous flights of stairs. By the time they had reached the top of the monument, she was on the ground heaving in air, "Geez...how often did you come up here?"

"Oh...about three or four times a week...maybe more..." Naruto thought out loud, and sat down next to her. He pointed out to the surrounding area, "See...look at it, Temari-chan. This is why I come up here."

Temari looked down at Konoha, and she had to admit, it was indeed a wonderful sight. The lights flickered as the pale moonlight shimmered over the village. A cool wind blew, and she shivered a bit. Naruto pulled her closer, and she smiled, "You're right, Naruto...it is the best view in all of Konoha..."

Naruto smiled as he looked at Temari. The moonlight reflected in her eyes as she looked at him, and her face seemed to glow just right under the pale beams of light, "Yeah...it sure is beautiful..."

Temari seemed to notice his gaze was on her, not Konoha. She grinned a bit, "What are you looking at, Naro-kun?" she teased, inching closer. Naruto seemed to snap out of his daze, and even in the dark Temari noticed his blush under the cloth scarf.

"Er...just looking at...your eyes..." he mumbled, looking down. He was embarassed, and the close proximity with Temari wasn't helping. No matter how often the two would be close together, physical affection wasn't something he was used to yet.

Temari leaned in on him, "You like my eyes?" she asked in a sultry voice, and put her lips against his ear, "...what do you like about them?"

Naruto was sweating now, "Uh...well, I like...um...how t-they..." he squirmed a bit as she wrapped her arms around him, but eventually he stopped as she rested her head on his shoulder, "...they're a really pretty shade of teal...I think that's the color. They reflect the moon really well too, and while they're very beautiful, they also have a fierceness in them too. Either way, they're very beautiful, and show just how wonderful of a person you are."

Temari couldn't help but laugh; he was so honest and innocent, "Heheh, Naruto...want to know what I think about your eyes?"

Naruto actually looked at her, "_My _eyes?" he laughed, "...what's so special about _them_?"

Temari found that last question hard to believe. What _wasn't _special about them? She spoke quietly, "Naruto...those eyes of yours are such a bright color of blue...they're so deep and vibrant. Someon could actually get lost in them..." she looked up at him, "...in fact...I find myself doing that right now..." she smiled softly, "You want to know what else is special about them?" Naruto nodded, "They seem to speak your emotions better than your own voice can...they're truly the windows to your soul, Naruto...maybe that's why they're so beautiful..."

Naruto was blushing now, "Geez, if you wanted to outdo me in compliments, you should have forwarned me, Temari-chan."

Temari laughed as she blushed a bit, and giggled, "Baka, you know it's true." She then gave him a playful shove.

Then Naruto did something he didn't seem to think about. He pulled down his mask, and gave Temari a kiss on the lips, earning a surprised look from the girl. She closed her eyes before pulling Naruto closer, and deepened the kiss.

Naruto's body was pulsing with electricity it seemed as Temari turned her head to get a better liplock on him. Man, she sure wasn't afraid of doing this.

After about a minute, or a year in the minds of Naruto and Temari, they pulled back. Naruto was grinning from ear to ear as Temari seemed to flushed in the face, "Well...when did you get so daring?" she asked him, slightly out of breath.

"Heh, I just saw my chance I guess." he made a motion to pull up his mask, but Temari gripped his hand.

"Just one more." she said, and before he could say anything, she gave him another chaste kiss on the lips before pulling his mask up and smiling at him, "You better ditch that when we get back home...I really miss not seeing your face."

Naruto nodded, "Fine, fine. When we get back home, I'll do that, Temari-chan."

The two stayed in each other's arms for about another half hour before they decided to head back. When they arrived, they were greeted by a sleepy Kankuro who was ready for bed, and a very quiet Gaara who was watching a woman on the television demonstrate how to make 'the best omelette for breakfast for a group of people'. Temari gave Naruto one more peck on the cheek before she walked slowly back to her room, looking over her shoulder and waving goodnight to Naruto, then shutting her door.

Naruto shut his door, and then sat on his bed while grinning like there was no tomorrow. His thoughts were however interrupted by laughter, "Man, Naruto, you've got it bad."

Naruto frowned a bit, "Whatever, Kankuro." Said Puppet Master simply laughed before rolling over to fall asleep in his bed.

Naruto went through his nightly ritual soon after, and then went to his bed as well. He said goodnight to Gaara, who quietly nodded. Much to Naruto's relief, Gaara turned the volume down on the television. Tomorrow, the second part of the exams would start.

10101010

The following day, Suna teams three and four woke up to the wonderful smell of sweet rolls. Gaara had taken the liberty of using the hotels bakery at four in the morning--which was when it opened--to make the tasty morning treats. Even Baki himself had one...or two...

They arrived at the gates of training ground forty-four, and were surprised to see that only the team from Sound and the Grass-nin team was there, as well as Anko. Gaara seemed to be in a staring contest with one of the Oto-nin who had bandages all over his face, and Naruto, for some odd reason, had the powerful urge to wipe off that smirk off the face of the Oto-nin who's hair stuck up a bit.

"You got a problem shorty?" asked the grinning Oto-nin as he looked at the blonde boy.

"Shorty?!" Naruto made the motion to walk forward, but was stopped by Kankuro.

"Naro, save it for later. You can mop the floor with him when we get the chance." Kankuro said, and then gave the Oto-nin group a smirk, "Besides...they don't look that tough to me."

The girl in their group spoke, "Tch, looks who's talking...clown-boy."

That struck a nerve, _"I'll have you know that this is traditional war paint used by-"_

"Hey, knock it off over there." came the voice of Anko. The two groups stopped.

After ten minutes of waiting, the other teams had all arrived. Naruto sent a quick nod to Sasuke, and Sasuke gave 'Naro' a nod as well.

"Okay, listen up! The next test is a survival based test; you'll all be recieving a scroll to carry," Anko showed the groups two different scrolls, "One is a heaven scroll, the other earth. The objective of this is to retrieve the other scroll needed by an opposing team by any means necessary. For the next five days, the Forest of Death will be your battle grounds to accomplish this objective." she held up a small map, "Training Ground Forty-four is designed in a circular fashion, with forty-four gates around it. You all have to obtain both of these scrolls and make it," she pointed to a tower-like structure on the map, "to this tower within the five day period. Understood?"

"Hm, seems fair enough..." came the voice of Kankuro, and he turned to Temari, "You ready for this?"

Temari laughed, "Come on, Kankuro, this will be easy. Do you really need to ask me such a stupid question?"

"Hey, I'm not finished here." Anko called out, "Before you recieve your scrolls, each of you will recieve a consent form to sign."

"What for?" came the voice of Shikamaru.

"Well, so I'm not held responsible if you don't make it through ofcourse. I mean, I'd hate to have all of you becoming a liability for me! They don't call it the Forest of Death for nothing!" Anko replied, followed by a series of laughing fits...which no one else saw funny.

Sakura looked over the ominous woods ahead, "That place gives me the creeps..."

"Relax, Sakura. Kakashi's put us through far worse in many cases..." Sasuke reassured, and Sakura gave a quick nod. She looked over to see Naruto laughing.

"Hahaha!!! Forest of Death, come on! What a joke! All there probably is are a few snakes and spiders, so what?" Naruto started to speak in a high pitched voice, imitating Anko, "_They don't call it the Forest of Death for nothing!_" Naruto continued his laughing spree until he felt a sharp, yet brief pain on his cheek. He immediately recognized it as a kunai, and soon felt a presence behind him.

"So, you're a tough guy, huh?" Anko leaned in close, "You know, it's usually the tough guys who end up spilling there blood in there." she licked a bit of the blood of Naruto's cheek, and if one listened closely they could hear a very angry Temari bristling with anger.

Anko went back to her speech about the second part, "Anyway, there are only three ways you can be disqualified..." she held up three fingers, "One; if you're team is unable to obtain both scrolls and reach the tower within five days, you're out. Two; if your team loses a member, or a teammate is incapacitated and unable to continue, you're out...and three; if you open up either of the two scrolls before reaching the tower."

"Well, suppose one of the scrolls happens to accidentally open up on us..." suggested Naruto, who was nursing a stinging cheek.

"Just...don't open it up...trust me." Anko replied, giving the group a wide grin.

Eventually all the teams recieved their forms to sign, and they all went to their own little spots to discuss and talk. Naruto was sitting with Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara, "I don't like that woman..." came the somewhat jealous voice of Temari.

"Eh? Well, she seems a little weird, but she isn't _that_ bad, is she, Temari-chan?" came the questioning voice of Naruto.

"Just don't worry about it for now. We're going to have to find out how to go about this, Temari. Remember, Naro and Gaara are on a seperate team now." spoke Kankuro.

"Well, if we meet each other, we'll help in whatever way we can." replied Temari, and the three boys nodded in agreement.

Sakura was walking along the gate when she noticed Ino, "Hey, Ino."

Ino smiled, "Billboard brow."

Sakura sighed, "Not now, Ino...listen...I think we should establish some kind of way to work things out if we meet each other while we're in there."

Ino nodded, and smiled, "A support system of sorts...not a bad idea."

Shikamaru and Chouji, along with Sasuke, walked up, "Man...I can't believe we got stuck with such a troublesome test..."

Chouji was on the verge of tears, "What are we going to do for food?"

Sasuke sighed, "Chouji, the forest has plenty of food to eat. You just have to know what's poisonous and what's not."

Ino walked up to Chouji, "Don't worry, Chouji, I can tell which plants are poisonous in Konoha, so we should be fine. Besides, you should have enough of your snacks to last for some time."

Chouji smiled a bit, "I guess your right, Ino, but thanks for reassuring me." He pulled out a bag of barbeque flavored chips and began to eat, while Ino just sighed with a shaking of her head and a smile. Her team was weird, but they would do fine; she was sure of it.

Anko looked over to see that everyone looked ready, "Allright, it's time to get your scrolls! After that, everyone report to you designated gate, and wait there until the gates are opened!"

Everyone went to retrieve their scrolls, and unfortunately for Temari and Naruto, they were on opposite ends of the grounds, "Be careful, Naro." Temari spoke as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hey, I've got Gaara with me, he'll keep us both out of trouble. You and Kankuro stay on your toes in there, okay? I promise we'll be okay." Naruto gave her a masked grin, and she nodded before heading off with Kankuro. Naruto followed Gaara, who carried a heaven scroll with him, and the two waited at gate number twenty two.

"Let's do our best, Naro." spoke Gaara, and Naruto laughed with a grin behind his scarf.

"You bet! We've got this in the bag!" Naruto replied, and the two anxiously awaited for the gates to be opened.

After what seemed like forever, Anko took a look at her watch, "Allright, I guess it's time to open the gates..." she looked to the forest and nodded. It was time, "Allright, the second part of the Chunin exams is on!"

With that being said, the gates opened, and all of the Genin teams raced into the Forest of Death, each with their objectives fresh in their minds. The race to the tower had begun...

**End of Chapter Ten: Woooo! Forest of Death part has begun! Man, I almost get myself excited just thinking about what I'm going to write next...er, yeah, anyway...hope this chapter was exciting for you all! I've decided to also make a minor change; from now on, I'll be putting down jutsu names in japanese...figured it would be better, and I guess I owe that much to the series, eh? I'm by no means an expert or at all fluent in Japanese...I've never spoken a complete sentence for that matter. I'll do my best in translating, so bare with me! Anyway, thanks to all those who have continued to read and review this story; your thoughts are both appreciated and enjoyed. I actually surprised myself by how I managed to take off with this story. Well, let me know what you think, and I'll have another update on this story before you know it! Later!**

**Jutsu notes: (On a side note, I'll be putting down Jutsu names and a brief description for them, well at least for the first time I'll give a description)**

_**Daisan no Me- (The Third Eye)-- **_(Original) A technique used by Gaara that involves creating an eye of sand. It allows Gaara the ability to view his opponent when no clear line of vision is available or when he needs to remain undetected. He actually used this technique in the first part of the exams to spy on another shinobi's paper in the canon series.

**_A/N_**- I would like to extend a personal thanks to TrueSalvation for giving me the information on jutsu names and whatnot. So...thanks much!!!


	11. Only the Trees Know

**Disclaimer: Still in the process of getting part time ownership rights; stay tuned for further details. Until then, I don't own Naruto.**

**Chap. 11: Only the Trees Know**

Naruto and Gaara were bounding through the dense forest, constantly looking around them to spot a potential threat. It was about ten hours or so into the second part, and things were going well, considering nothing happened yet. They needed to retrieve a Heaven scroll, that much they knew for sure.

"Gaara, you sense anything yet?" Naruto asked, and Gaara shook his head. A few little clouds of sand flew back into Gaara's gourd as the two young boys continued their search for any possible targets. With Gaara's tracking sand at work, and Naruto being able to track air movement with only his middle and index fingers extending outward a bit, they would eventually find someone.

Baki had once told Naruto that his affinity to wind was almost inconcievable. He had great a natural talent at using wind power, and aside from the Jounin and Temari, his control over it was the best out of the Suna team. He had learned how to sense ripples in air flow caused by chakra, breathing, and heat or cold. The only drawback was that it required a lot of concentration.

Suddenly the two stopped, and jumped in opposite directions to avoid a spray of senbon needles. The two Suna Genin landed in a small clearing, and turned to see a group of three ninja wearing straw hats and carrying umbrellas. The tallest one, and apparant leader of the group who had a scar over his right eye, stepped forward with a grin. He looked to them and spoke, "Allright small fry, hand over your Earth Scroll and we'll let you live."

Naruto smiled under his mask, "So, that means you got a Heaven Scroll then." He turned to Gaara, and the red headed Jinchuuriki nodded to his teammate. Naruto turned back to the three Rain nin and laughed, "Nah, I think we'll take your scroll instead. It would be easier than for us to win against you three than pretend to lose and hand over our scroll." Naruto then went into a fighting stance while Gaara did likewise.

The leader of the Genin of the Hidden Rain team just grinned, "Fine then. Baiu, Midari, I'll handle these two myself." The guy pulled out his umbrella and laughed, "You idiots were stupid enough to enter as a two person team, and now you challenge me to a fight? Heh, whatever, your funeral."

"Shigure, don't you think that's a leaning towards overkill with these two?" spoke Midari, the second tallest of the three with black markings over both his eyes that resembled facial paint. Shigure gave him a look, and Midari was quiet after that.

Gaara gave Shigure a look to the opposing Ame-nin, "We would advise you to surrender. It would be in your best interest to give up and hand us the scroll instead of attacking us."

Shigure shook his head, "Whatever, this battle will be over soon enough." he tossed his umbrella in the air, and made a few handseals, "Take this! _**Jouro Senbon**_!" the umbrella sprayed out a shower of senbon needles that was aimed for Naruto and Gaara.

"Tch, I've had worse." Naruto laughed, and crouched a bit with his palms opened up, "_**Fuuton: Buyou no Senkaze no Jutsu!**_" Naruto quickly spun around as a whirlwind kicked up the dust in the area. The needles were deflected by the maelstrom, and Naruto stopped shortly after with a smirk on his masked face. Gaara meanwhile had covered himself in a cocoon made of sand. The sand crumbled away, dropping the deflected needles to the ground harmlessly.

Shigure looked irked to say the least. He barely had time to react as a fist to the fist sent him flying backwards a bit. Naruto stood in his low crouching stance while Gaara sent a torrent of sand towards the three ninja.

Gaara lifted his two hands and spoke, "_**Suna **__**Kanadzuchi!**_" three seperate streams of sand sprouted out of the ground, and sent the three Ame-nin into the air. Gaara quickly caught them, and slammed them into a nearby tree. They all slumped to the ground, unconcious, but not dead. Gaara was pleased with this outcome.

After scrounging through their pockets, the two Suna-nin found their scroll, and it was indeed a Heaven Scroll, "Well, that was easy. Let's go, Gaara."

"Right. I'm sure Nee-san and Kankuro will be joining us at the tower soon enough." spoke the sand user. They jumped into the woods, heading to the central tower.

11111111

As the two Jinchuuriki left the clearing and the three unconcious Ame-nin, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame came out of their cover and looked around. Akamaru, while not terrified by the battle, was a bit jumpy. According to what Kiba understood, those two were quite powerful. What bothered him more was that the masked Suna-nin was bothering Kiba's sense of smell. His scent...it seemed familiar...but why?

"Um...Kiba-kun, we should get moving if we plan on getting an Earth Scroll." Hinata spoke quietly, shaking the boy from his thoughts. He nodded, and the three Leaf Genin jumped off to find said scroll.

11111111

Temari and Kankuro were taking a short break, since it was around lunch time. They had been in the forest for almost ten hours now, and had seen nothing aside from a few squirrels and a snake (which Temari promptly killed out of sheer fear of being bitten. Kankuro would later identify it as nothing more than a harmless garter snake).

"Man, it sure is harder to find anyone without Gaara and the squirt to help us track movements." Kankuro said, and Temari nodded. She finished her ration bar, then took a swig from her canteen before passing it to Kankuro.

Suddenly, a snap of a twig was heard. The two teens stiffened slightly, but remained motionless. They slowly began to continue their activities while sending each other silent messages with their eyes. The sound of a kunai whizzing through the air caught their attention, and they jumped back to avoid injury. A group of Leaf ninja appeared before the group. All three were male, and were grinning. Temari immediately categorized them under the 'No-talent-but-managed-to-get-this-far' group. Kankuro sighed. They looked to maybe be third year Genin, as they were around the same age as the siblings.

"Well, well, looks like we lucked out. Give us your Earth Scroll or we'll have to fight you. We've got the fight in our favor, three to two." spoke one of the three. Kankuro snorted at those words.

"So you've outnumbered us. Big deal, ever here of the saying that it's quality, _not_ quanity, that determines a fight?" spoke the puppet user.

Five minutes later found the three Genin tied to a tree by wire while Kankuro was putting the newly acquired Heaven Scroll in a pocket while whistling. Temari turned to the three angry Leaf-nin and winked at them, "It's been fun boys, but we have places to go and people to see." and with that, the two siblings left the Leaf nin humbled and humiliated.

11111111

Naruto and Gaara were about halfway into their journey to the tower when the felt a breeze blow through the trees. Killer intent suddenly washed over the area, and Naruto froze in place while Gaara stiffened a bit. This feeling was...horrid...a murderous intent that seemed almost inhuman.

"W-what the hell?" Naruto spoke while he turned to Gaara. Gaara shook his head, and uncorked his gourd.

"I don't know...but it's in our pathway to the tower...we should be ready." Gaara replied, and Naruto nodded as the two slowly moved through the darkness.

Minutes later found the duo overlooking Konoha Team Seven facing off with a Grass-kunoichi. She had taken off her straw hat and was now running through the thick foliage as Sasuke tried to keep up with her. Naruto and Gaara themselves were having difficulty tracking down the amazing speed that Genin usually didn't possess...usually...

"Well?" asked Gaara. Naruto shook his head as Sasuke was kicked into a tree. Sakura jumped in front and spoke to the Grass-nin.

"Stop, we give up! Just take our scroll and leave us!" the pink haired kunoichi threw her Heaven Scroll to the taller kunoichi. However, what happened next made Naruto's concern rise.

The Grass nin laughed, and ignited the scroll into flames, "I'm not here for a silly little scroll, you foolish girl. I'm here for Sasuke." she pulled out a kunai, and threw it in Sakura's direction.

Sakura was prepared to block the weapon with her own kunai, but was surprised to see a wave of sand catch it instead. The Grass nin then turned and was blasted by a strong gust of wind.

"Hey, I don't know what your problem is, lady, but the girl just said she gives up! Leave her and her teammate alone!" Naruto spoke as the enemy kunoich landed gracefully on a nearby branch.

"Heheheheh...well, if it isn't the Suna nin. What are you doing protecting the Leaf nin? Run along before I decide to make things painful for the two of you." laughed the Kusa-nin. She went into a taijutsu stance and smiled wickedly.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked Sakura, and she silently nodded, "Hey, Gaara, this crazy lady's fast, let me take care of her. Do you think you could guard them while I deal with her?"

"Sure, just be careful, Naro." Gaara nodded, and moved closer to the two wounded Leaf nin.

Naruto then turned to find that the woman was gone. He closed his eyes, and lifted his two middle and index fingers. He didn't feel anything irregular...

"Naro, behind you!" cried Sakura. Naruto whirled around to see the Kusa-nin appear out of the tree behind him. She quickly delivered a punch to his gut, and followed up with a kick to his jaw in a matter of seconds. He went flying into a nearby tree, and smacked the back of his head, knocking him out. Sakura quickly threw a kunai to his general direction, and the weapon imbedded his jacket into the tree, holding him in place.

Gaara went into a stance, and turned to the now standing Sasuke, "I'm going to need your help...I'm not as fast as her..."

Sasuke nodded, "Watch out though, she can use Doton substitution." Gaara turned back to the enemy, and blasted a wave of sand at her. She jumped to the side, and avoided the attack completely. However, she didn't notice that Sasuke was now at her side. He quickly delivered a powerful kick into her ribs, and she crashed into a tree. Gaara sent another wave of sand, and trapped her to the tree, only one hand was left free. Sakura threw a kunai, piercing the hand and imbedding it into the bark, leaving the Kusa nin vulnerable.

Sasuke took his chance and went through a series of seals at rapid fire pace, "_**Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu**_!!!" using some guided wire that he wrapped around the Kusa-nin, a stream of fire towards the woman. She screeched in pain as she was incinerated by the flames...that is until she suddenly metled.

"Substitution!" Sasuke yelled out, and the kunoichi reappeared behind Gaara.

"Well, well, the Shukaku boy, eh?" she smirked at the small amount the shock on his face. For a split second, the woman's hands glowed an eerie blue hue. She delivered three precise jabs to the boy's navel at blinding speed before his sand could react, and he reeled over unconcious. She sneered at her victory, and turned back to the remaining Konoha-nin, "Now then...to take care of what I came here for..."

Her neck suddenly stretched and before he could react, bit her teeth into Sasuke's neck. He cried out in pain as burning sensation was felt rack through his body. The Kusa-nin retracted her neck and laughed as she looked upon the Uchiha boy.

"Sasuke!" Sakura ran up to said boy, and held him up as he screamed in pain, "What did you do to him?!" she screamed out.

Instead of answering the girls question, the woman put a hand over her face and seemed to peel away the skin there. A pale, ghastly face with snake-like eyes replaced the womanly features just moments ago, "Oh, don't worry about him. If all goes well, he'll be even more powerful than before."

"Who are you?!" Sakura yelled, standing up with kunai in hand. She was scared, yes, but she would be damned if she didn't protect Sasuke and the other two who had helped them.

"I am Orochimaru...and if Sasuke wishes to seek power...then he will come to me in due time, kukukuku..." spoke the person, who appeared to actually be a man.

"You freak!" Sakura was about to run at the man, but Orochimaru dissapeared in flurry of leaves.

11111111

Sakura was sitting under a tree's upturned roots, watching over the three boys who had been unconcious for about a day now. This wasn't good...Sasuke had a fever, Gaara was out cold, and the blonde boy she had confirmed to be Naruto was unresponsive. She had chanced to look under his mask, and indeed, it was her missing teammate. It took every bit of her willpower not to hug the boy out of joy, but she had to attend to the matter of the wounded right now.

"I just hope you three are going to be okay..." she spoke, and suddenly Naruto stirred. He looked around, and noticed that he was under a tree. He felt that his mask was still on, and turned to his friend Gaara. He checked over him, and realized that he was alive, yet unconcious.

"Did you bring us here?" Naruto asked Sakura after taking a seat.

Sakura nodded, "Yeah...I figured that since you two helped us out that I owed you that much..." she dropped her head, and turned to Sasuke, "That woman...was actually a guy named Orochimaru. He did something weird and bit Sasuke in the neck. There's some weird marking there now. He's got a fever now too."

Naruto turned to the shaking boy, and noticed she was right, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you two better. Gaara and I are strong...but that guy was fast..."

"He also did something weird to Gaara..." she spoke again, and that got Naruto's attention, "He made his hands glow blue, and did some weird kind of punching attack on his stomach...he's been unconscious for awhile now..."

"How long has it been since we started the second part?" Naruto asked her quietly.

"It's been about twenty-three hours and fifty-two minutes..." Sakura replied to the masked blonde.

"That long?" Naruto got on his knees, and picked up a rock. He tossed it at Gaara's head, and was pleased to see that a small stream of sand deflected it. What did the attack on Gaara do then?

The two remained quiet for awhile, then Sakura spoke up, "Naro...can I ask you something?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Sure?"

"Well...um..." before she could finish her sentence, a blast of wind interrupted their conversation.

Sakura and Naruto turned to look in the clearing, only to see the same three Sound nin from earlier today. Naruto cursed under his breath. He gave Sakura a look, "Stay here, I'll-"

"No, I'm not leaving you to take them on alone. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't fight." she pulled out a kunai, and looked to see Naruto...smiling?

Naruto felt his pride for Sakura grow as she looked defiantly at him, and he nodded, "Okay then...looks like at least one of them can use wind...this should be fun for me."

The two jumped out of their hideout, and they stared down the three with glares, "What do you guys want?" Naruto asked, gritting his teeth.

The leader of the group, Dosu, who was covered in bandages, stepped forward, "We're here to take care of the Uchiha..."

Naruto growled, "Hey, what's with it and attacking an unconscious? Get out of here and I'll pretend this never happened."

Zaku, a boy with hair standing up sneered, "Hey, it's Shorty! I was hoping to get a chance to fight you." Zaku lifted his hands, and smirked.

Sakura quickly threw a kunai, and it went past the group, and cut a string. Dosu soon found himself avoiding a giant log by mere inches while another one came flying at him from the other direction. He avoided the second one, only to see Sakura throwing a spray of kunai at him. He rolled to the side, and felt himself get knocked back by a blast of air.

He crashed into a tree, but quickly got up with a growl, "So, you're a wind user too? Heh, this should be fun for Zaku then."

Sakura was occupied with avoiding Zaku's blasts of wind while trying to find an opening. She had no traps left, and none of them had worked. She landed, and felt a tug on her hair, "Hmmph...what beautiful hair you've got here..." Kin, the female member of the Sound team mocked, "You know, if you spent more time training and less time on this hair of yours, maybe you wouldn't have been caught in such a predicament."

Sakura, however, remembered a lesson she recieved from Kakashi about such a scenario. She slowly turned around with kunai in hand, and cut her hair with a swift slash of the weapon. Pink strands fell to the ground. Sakura gave a silent prayer for her once beautiful hair, and ran at the black haired girl with renewed sense of determination. Kin, who had not expected this, fell back a few steps only to find the girl she was fighting gone.

Suddenly, the world began to spin around her. She found herself growing dizzier by the second as it spun faster and faster. Just when she thought she was about to vomit, she felt herself stop, and felt a tug on her own hair, "Hm...now what was it you said about hair? I will admit, mine was beautiful, but if I'm not mistaken, a kunoichi with extremely long hair is just as bad as a girl who purposely keeps her hair in great shape and longer to catch an enemy in this kind of situation..." she pulled at Kin's hair as she spoke into her ear, "...but getting caught in a genjutsu as simple as the one I pulled off is just as bad." Sakura yanked at Kin's long strands, earning a scream of pain from the Oto-kunoichi. Sakura quickly delivered a snap kick as she spun Kin around, and the enemy kunoichi was sent flying backwards as Sakura took her stance, staring at Zaku, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Zaku smirked, and yelled out as he opened up the valves on his hands, "_**Zankuuha**_!" the blast went flying at the kunoichi, and she didn't have time to avoid the supersonic blasts of wind.

Bracing herself, she put her hands in front of her face to shield herself. However, a giant tree seemed to fall from nowhere, and she looked to see the wooden mass take the attack, shattering it into millions of pieces of bark. Before she could say anything further, a figure in green jumped down and went into a stance.

"Lee?" Sakura spoke, looking at the Taijutsu specialist that she meet earlier...and had been slightly creeped out by.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" he asked, and she nodded, "Good to hear. Do not worry, I shall protect you and assist the Suna-nin." he gave her a thumbs up, and jumped over to assist Naruto.

Naruto was having difficulty with this Dosu character. Naruto, for some reason, felt that he should avoid that metal arm at all costs. Why, he wasn't quite sure though. He would feel a slight uneasiness in his stomach whenever he got too close to the bandaged ninja, and thus brought Naruto to his decision that close range was not a good idea for him. Naruto moved to avoid another attack from the bandaged Genin, and this time it brushed against his side. Naruto felt his body shake a bit, and he fell over in a sudden daze. The world wouldn't stop spinning...

The blonde looked to see Dosu give him a cold glare with his one visible eye, "Heh, impressive. You're still standing after I managed to hit your side...your tough, but no Genin can survive a direct hit from my Melody Arm and stay conscious..." Dosu pulled back his right arm to attack, but was knocked a few yards back by a green blur.

Naruto eventually gained his bearings and looked to see a boy with a bowl cut and green spandex. He was a Konoha nin from the hitai-ite around his waist, "Are you allright, Suna-nin?" Naruto nodded, and got up slowly with the boy's help, "I am Rock Lee, and I have come to help you. You have protected Sakura-chan, and I cannot let these enemy ninja defeat you. Allow me to assist."

Naruto gave him a grateful nod, "Thanks, my name's Naro Uzaki. I appreciate your help." Naruto turned to Dosu, who was getting up with a groan, "That was fast...I didn't even sense you unleash any chakra when you did that..."

Lee grinned, "That is because I am unable to mold chakra. Even though I cannot perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, I still will become a great shinobi with my taijutsu. Hard work can beat even genius, and I wish to prove that."

Naruto found himself grinning, but then looked back to Zaku, Dosu, and Kin, who were all getting ready to attack. Sakura joined the two boys, and turned to them both, "Lee, thanks again for the help. Naro...are you okay?"

Naruto nodded, and quickly blocked a few senbon with a kunai as Kin ran at the them again. Sakura went at her and the two were soon entangled in a dance of taijutsu and steel. Naruto decided to go toe to toe with Zaku, seeing as they both were able to use long distance attacks. Lee, using his speed, was proving to be quite an inconvenience to Dosu.

Lee ran around Dosu a few times, and then suddenly appeared in front of the Oto-nin. Dosu had no time to react as he was kicked straight into the air. Lee unraveled the bandages around his arms, and jumped into the air, and within an instant was behind Dosu, shadowing the boy's ascent into the air. Lee quickly wrapped his guaze strips around the Oto-nin, and then grabbed a hold of the sound user. The two started spinning downwards at a dangerous speed, as they began to increase speed in their descent to the ground.

"_**Omoto Renge**_!" Lee yelled as they hit the ground, creating a large crater as Lee flipped through the air landing on his feet, avoiding damage from the impact at the very last second. As the dust cleared, Lee slowly got up, and tried to walk, but opening the first gate and using the forbidden taijutsu took its toll on the boy. He staggered, and looked behind as he heard a groan from the Oto-nin he had thought to be defeated, "What?"

Dosu got up, and laughed as he cracked his neck, "Not bad...but luckily for me I had managed to shift the bandages grip on me with my sound waves to loosen them. I was able to lessen the impact by rolling to the side a bit to lessen the impact...still hurt though..." Dosu lifted his Melody arm with a masked smirk, "Time to say goodnight, kid. Leave the work of shinobi to those who can actually use their chakra." Lee suddenly felt his entire body shake as sound vibrations ripped through him. He fell to the ground, unconscious and unmoving.

Naruto saw his comrade fall, and growled in frustration. He was occupied with avoiding Zaku's sonic wave attacks, and now he had Dosu and Kin to worry about as well. Sakura was holding up quite well it seemed, but she was tiring out a bit. Still, her taijutsu was quite better than what Naruto remembered it to be when he was still part of team seven. Her hits were faster, her movements were more graceful. Most of her attacks were with her feet and legs, but her punches were nothing to scoff at.

Naruto suddenly felt himself get knocked back as he was caught in mid-air by Zaku's attack. Naruto was about to crash into a tree when he heard a shout, "_**Baika no Jutsu**_!" Naruto bumped into a rather rubbery surface, and turned to see Chouji Akimichi using his clan's signature technique to stop Naruto from crashing into the tree.

"Thanks..." Naruto said as he and Chouji landed. Chouji nodded, and then looked to see Dosu was stuck in place and putting his hands at his sides as though he were wearing pockets, "_**Kage Mane no Jutsu**_...success," came the drawling voice of Shikamaru Nara. Dosu growled as he was forced to lift his right arm, and then noticed his other hand going to his Melody Arm. Shikamaru smirked, "You know, it's funny...I noticed that you're mainly a close range guy from the looks of it. I, on the other hand, need to keep my distance in order to use my technique effectively in most cases..." Shikamaru and Dosu slowly walked closer to each other, and the scowl never left the bandaged nin's face. Shikamaru knew that these darkened woods were hindering his family's technique, but he would only need to borrow sometime until Ino used her technique on the girl...

Ino was hiding in a nearby tree, waiting for the right moment. Kin and Sakura were fighting close combat right now, and it didn't help that her family's _**Shintenshin no Jutsu**_ needed the opponent to remain still in order for it to work properly, "Come on, Billboard Brow...keep her in place for just a few seconds..."

Sakura managed to deliver a swift kick to Kin's ribs, and the black haired girl fell as she lost her wind for a few seconds. Ino gave a silent cheer, and quickly jumped to the ground and hid behind a bush, while performing the needed hand seals. Seconds later, Ino slumped over as Chouji landed next to her body to watch over her as Ino took over the Oto-kunoichi.

Kin was about to get up when she stopped, and drooped her head a bit. Seconds passed, and Kin got up and gave a smile to Sakura, "Hey, Billboard Brow."

Sakura took a step back, but then noticed that Shikamaru and Chouji were here as well, "Ino?"

'Ino' nodded, and picked up a kunai from the ground. She turned to Zaku and Dosu, and put the kunai to her neck, "Give up now, or the girl dies." she held the kunai a little closer as it pressed against her skin. Zaku and Dosu seemed to catch on, and looked to each other.

"You're bluffing..." Dosu said with a hint of humor. Truth was, he had no clue if she was or not. The girl was still Kin...but there was something different...some kind of jutsu was being used to control her.

Zaku was about to raise his hands to strike when the whole area was flooded with a sudden malign chakra signature. Everyone looked towards a swirling, purple vortex, and Sakura let out a gasp as Sasuke Uchiha slowly got up. His skin was covered on his left side in black, flame-like markings. He turned to Sakura, then the others, "What's going on here?"

Dosu smirked, "Heh, so the Uchiha's finally awake. About time..." Dosu sensed the tainted chakra of Orochimaru's curse mark, but he didn't care. As far as he was concerned, this Sasuke wasn't anything more than a kid playing ninja.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "So...you and your team are responsible for attacking us?" Dosu merely nodded, and felt himself become freed as Shikamaru lost control of his jutsu.

Naruto was giving his old teammate a wary look; that chakra...something wasn't right about it. When Sasuke suddenly grinned maniacally, Naruto knew something was up, "Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned to see Naruto, and his eyes widened. He stopped himself quickly, then nodded, "Naro...thanks for helping us...but I'll take it from here..."

Sasuke suddenly dissapeared, and Dosu was sent flying forward as he skidded to the ground. Sasuke grinned a bit, and took out a kunai. He ran at the bandaged nin, and delivered another powerful blow to the head. Dosu was coughing up blood, and his bandages were now stained as he tried to get up. The Uchiha planted the Oto-nin's face into the dirt, and took a look at Dosu's Melody Arm, "Hmm...so...this a device you use for amplifying sound? Nice..." Sasuke drove a kunai into Dosu's right shoulder just below the nerve where a pressure point was, and Dosu howled in pain as the Uchiha seemed to dig the weapon deeper into the boy's skin, "Well, I wonder how useful it will be if you can't even move your arm." Dosu continued screaming as he felt muscle being torn into, and Sasuke only grinned sadistically as he heard the pained cries.

"Sasuke, stop it! He can't fight back anymore!" Naruto yelled, seeing that Dosu was no longer struggling, to overwhelmed by the pain. He was now unconscious, and Sasuke got up. He turned to the others. Suddenly, Sasuke lurched forward as a pain racked throughout his body. He felt a burning sensation on his neck, and fell to the ground.

Ino had removed herself from Kin's body upon feeling the malicious chakra from Sasuke. She was now being held by Chouji as he waited for her to wake up.

Zaku was mad now. Not only had they wasted too much time, but their target had managed to take out one of their teammates, "That's it! I'll just blow you all away in one clean sweep!" Zaku lifted his arms, and Kin's eyes widened as she recognized what was about to happen next, and jumped back quickly as he opened his air valves all the way, "Time to die! _**Zankyokukuuha**_!!!"

A giant blast of super sonic wind flew at the team, Naruto being in the front. He went into auto pilot as he went through some seals faster than he usually did, "_**Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu**_!!!" a wave of high speed winds collided with Zaku's attack, and the two boys were now locked in a battle for dominance over wind power.

"What?!" _Impossible!!_" Zaku yelled, seeing the short haired boy holding his own against Zaku's ultimate attack. Zaku increased his chakra output, and growled as he strained to knock the blonde Suna-nin away.

Naruto, despite his amazing chakra reserves, was at a disadvantage. He still didn't have complete control of his wind affinity yet, so to keep pouring more and more chakra into his attack was an effort. He turned to the others behind him, "I don't know how long I can hold this attack back, you all need to get out of my way in case I lose ground here!" As he spoke those words, he began to get pushed back a bit. This technique of Zaku's was powerful, he wouldn't deny that. If only he could get a better footing, and if only he had more time to prepare...

The Rookie Leaf nin jumped away, and Naruto began to pour more chakra into his attack. He could see the powerful winds of Zaku's attack slowly gaining the upper hand, and Naruto growled in anger, "You call this a wind attack? Heh, my girlfriend's given me better fights!"

Zaku smirked, "In all fairness, this attack isn't really a wind affinity; it's simply compressed air and supersonic waves being blasted from these air valves!"

Naruto dug deeper into his reserves, and felt himself begin to gain more power, "That's it...a little more..." he let out a burst of chakra, and Naruto's _**Kazebakufuu no Jutsu**_ began to push Zaku's blasts of air waves, "It's over!!!"

Suddenly, the two attacks erupted, and sent Naruto and Zaku flying into different directions. Naruto crashed into some underbrush while Zaku eventually fell into a small shrub. Kin, while holding Dosu, ran to Zaku. The two turned to Sakura and the others, and she picked up her Earth Scroll and tossed it to Sakura, "We give up." and with that, they left.

Sakura pocketed the scroll, and quickly ran to where Naruto was. She saw a small trail that seemed to be where he skidded when he hit the ground. He was trying to get up, and groaned. That's when she saw it.

Naruto's mask had come undone, and his whiskered face was visible to the world. He saw her, then noticed his mask was off. He panicked, tried cover his face with a sleeve, and quickly pulled his scarf back on. He knew it was too late though.

"Naruto..." she said softly, and walked closer. His eyes widened, and he turned away.

"I...I don't know anyone by that-"

"Naruto, please don't hide from me like that...I know it's you..." she felt some tears fall; her missing teammate and unofficial younger brother was home, "I won't tell..."

Naruto turned to her, and upon seeing her tears, drooped his shoulders, "I...I had a reason to leave...it wasn't be-"

"I know...Kakashi-sensei told us..." she said softly as she gave him a hand to help him up. He quickly retracted it as he heard that last part.

"Wait...you know about...?" he put a hand on his stomach, and she nodded sadly. He immediately turned away, "Well...I guess you really-"

"No, Naruto...we don't hate you for it...if anything...we've got a greater respect for you." she wrapped her arms in a hug that spoke all the emotions of sadness and guilt she had experienced in the past months, "We missed you, Naruto...for awhile, I thought you were..." she didn't finished, and slowly cried.

Naruto found himself silently crying too, "It's okay, Sakura-chan...I'm alive..."

After a couple of seconds, Sakura drew away with an awkward smile, "When did you get so darn strong?"

Naruto blushed, "I have Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari-chan to thank for that...especially Temari-chan..." Sakura sensed a hint of pride when he spoke the Suna-kunoichi's name. She smiled knowingly, and leaned close to her old teammate.

"Uh oh...Naruto, you didn't find a girlfriend...did you?" she raised an eyebrow, and laughed as he blushed, "Wow, Naruto...I didn't know you were into exotic women..." Naruto was beet red now, but managed to speak.

"She and her brothers, and almost half of Suna knows of the fox as well...and they all see me as somewhat of a hero..." Naruto left out the part of Gaara being a Jinchuuriki as well; that was Gaara's choice...wait, Gaara!

Naruto quickly ran to where the others were, and noticed Sasuke seemed to be standing again. He looked to Naruto, and the two seemed to suddenly realize what had happened. Naruto knew Sasuke wasn't dumb enough not to recognize the dobe. The blonde ninja crouched down by Gaara, and looked to Sakura, "You said he got hit where?"

Sakura gave a thoughtful look, "In the stomach...three times I think..."

Naruto gave a groan, "Crap..." Naruto went into his pocket, and pulled out a kunai. He pressed the kunai down to Gaara's arm, only for the sand to stop it. Naruto let out a sigh; Naruto's friend was okay. Naruto shook Gaara gently, and after a minute or so, the redhead opened his eyes slowly.

"Naruto?" the Shukaku Jinchuuriki asked quietly enough that only said blonde heard, looking around. He sat up, and winced in pain as he felt a sharp pain rack through his abdomen.

"Easy, Gaara. You've been unconscious for almost fourteen hours. Sakura-chan here brought us to a safe place after that Kusa-nin got away." Naruto explained.

Gaara looked to the pink haired girl, and gave a nod, "Thank you...Sakura-san." Sakura smiled lightly, and nodded.

"Thank you, Gaara. You and Naro here helped save us earlier, so it was the least I could do. Besides," she smiled, "Suna and Konoha are allies, right?"

Gaara and Naruto nodded, both silently agreeing with those words.

11111111

After a kunoichi named Tenten came and fetched Lee, and team ten made sure everyone was okay, the two Suna nin and team seven went onward. Naruto and Gaara were okay with the scroll situation, but Sakura and Sasuke were still in need of a Heaven Scroll. Naruto briefly told Gaara that team seven was aware of who he was, and explained that he was fine. Gaara seemed acceptant of it, but still warned the group politely not to reveal Naruto's identity for his safety. The two Leaf Genin agreed.

The foursome had taken a short break to rest and eat when a few kunai were caught buy Gaara's sand out of nowhere. Gaara quickly turned to his immediate left, and noticed three ninja wearing breathing masks and wearing Hidden Rain hitai-ite.

"Allright, kiddies, hand over your Earth Scroll, now..." spoke one of the three.

Sasuke got up, and so did Sakura, "You really expect that to happen?"

The same ninja spoke up, "Well, I was hoping for this to go quick...Mubi, Kagari, you know what to do." the three melted into the ground, and now the four Genin were on their guard.

Gaara looked around, and his sand was constantly sending out tendrils...though much to Gaara's surprise, he was having some difficulty in directing it where to go, "Something's wrong with my chakra..." he spoke to Naruto, who turned quickly.

"That Orochimaru guy told you about...he hit you in the stomach three times with some kind of chakra technique...I think he went for your seal..." Naruto spoke quietly, and was relieved to see that neither Sakura nor Sasuke had overheard them. Gaara nodded, and continued with his scanning of the area.

Sasuke's Sharingan was activated and looking over the area, and he sensed no presence with his eyes, "They're hiding themselves well..." he pulled out a kunai, and waited for an attack. Sakura held a few shuriken in each hand, listening for the slightest sound of movement.

Gaara's eyes suddenly snapped open, "They're under us!" the Genin instinctively moved, and fifteen seperate Rain nin jumped out of the ground, weapons drawn and aiming where the four had been.

Sasuke looked over them with his kekkai genkai, "They're all fakes...some kind of clone jutsu..."

"Well, looks like they discovered our secret, Oboro. What now?" one of the clones asked as he turned to the Rain nin with both eyes visible.

"It makes no difference, Mubi, we'll kill them and take the scrolls either-" the clones were cut off from their conversation as a blast of sand destroyed them all. Gaara pulled back his sand a bit slower than usual, and frowned.

"My sands beign weighed down...by water..."

"Hn..._**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu**_...just like when we fought Zabuza..." Sasuke said, and he continued to scan around the area.

Naruto suddenly found a hand grabbing on to his ankle, and the next thing he knew, two solid figures burst from the ground and punched him. Unforutnately, they didn't have time to avoid Gaara's sand as it grabbed a hold of the two. He spun them around by his tendrils, and smacked the two together. They fell with a solid thud, and didn't dissolve. They were real.

"Well, that's two down." Sakura said, and looked around. She suddenly felt cold steel pressed against her neck, and she slowly turned to make brief eye contact, "How did-?"

The Rain nin pressed his weapon against her a little harder, and she turned around again, "Hand over the scroll, or little cherry blossom here dies."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as his Sharingan spun, two tomoes in each eye watching every movement. He slowly developed a smirk on his face, "You're bluffing..."

Oboro laughed, and without warning, slashed at Sakura's throat. Naruto screamed out, and Gaara's eyes became expressionless. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Sakura-chan!!!!! NO!!!" Naruto ran at the Rain nin, fury blinding him. He was about to aim for the masked nin's throat with a kunai when the man's eyes widened, and he let out a breath. He then fell over as Sakura appeared behind him, hand formed in a shape for chopping at the neck. She had knocked him out.

"Nice job, Sakura." Sasuke said as he deactivated his Sharingan.

Naruto stopped, and looked to where the body of Sakura had been, only to find it gone, "What-?"

"Genjutsu." Sakura said simply with a grin. She rummaged through the unconscious shinobi's pockets, and found the needed and Naruto nodded. Since when did she use that?

Gaara looked to the sky, and then to the others, " I suggest we try and make it to the tower. I'm sure Nee-san and Kankuro are waiting for us..."

The others agreed, and sprinted through the trees towards their destination with their needed scrolls. Within an three hours, they had found the tall building, and a wave of relief spread throughout the group, even to Gaara. They entered the tower, and immediately sat on one of the benches, weary, yet relieved.

They had made it.

11111111

Upon opening the scrolls, Naruto and Gaara were greeted by none other than Baki, "Well, I was wondering when you guys would show up. Temari and Kankuro were getting worried about you two from what I heard from the ninja that their scroll had summoned."

Naruto gave a weary grin underneath his mask. He decided to not tell Baki about his teammates' knowledge of who he was, and instead settled for a hearty laugh, "Sorry, Baki-sensei, Gaara and I got held up helping out someone who was being attacked for no reason. We formed an alliance with two Leaf nin, and made it through with their help."

Baki, despite the fact that his two youngest and possibly most talented students had gotten sidetracked, smiled a little, "Well, I'll be sure to tell the Hokage about that. Never bad to put in good word to your ally's leader, right?" he patted Naruto on the head, "You two have made me proud. Wash up and get some rest, and be sure to see Kankuro and Temari before you go to bed." with that, Baki disapeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto and Gaara were no more than a minute into their journey to the designated floor where they would stay until the second part was up when the two boys felt an ominous feeling of danger behind them. Naruto slowly turned while Gaara turned around in his usaul placid manner, though if one looked closely in his eyes they could see some slight uneasiness in them.

There, down at the end of the hall was a very distraught looking Temari no Sabaku, and behind her was Kankuro, mouthing the words, 'Run!'

"Where the _HELL _were you two?! Huh?!! Kankuro and I got through that forest in less than thirteen hours, and here you guys are after a day and some odd hours! I feared the worse! You guys shouldn't have taken that long to-"

"T-Temari-chan, we can explain..." Naruto raised his hands to protest.

"Nee-san," Gaara said, feeling the killer intent from his older sister, "we were-"

"_Can it_!" she said, pulling out her fan, "I won't be the one your telling it to!" she nodded to her battle fan, unfolded, and being held like a hammer. She unleashed a war cry, and ran at them.

Naruto followed his instincts and ran like the smart shinobi he sometimes was. He knew all to well what Temari could do when angry, and he wasn't in the mood for a review right now.

Gaara was a strong shinobi, and a relatively level-headed boy. He had stared numerous assassins in the eyes as he crushed them, and had killed Jounin with three times his experience with relative ease. Needless to say, he wasn't one who was easily scared. However, there was one thing he knew that held more power than the most deadly of Suna-jounin in all of Wind Country. That thing was an angry Suna-kunoichi. Unfortunately for him, his sister was both one of the best kunoichi in Wind Country, and also very mad. Bad combination for the two Jinchuuriki. Gaara decided for once to join Naruto in his retreat from an inevitable beating. Gaara would most likely hide in his _**Suna no Muya**_ after some running, and let Naruto take the damage. Naruto would understand, Gaara told himself.

An hour later found a broken and beaten Naruto on the ground while Kankuro explained to a group of Konoha ANBU what had happened so that no arrests would be made. Gaara stayed inside his cocoon of sand, even though Temari had calmed down and was now applying some bandages to her boyfriend.

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When night came, Gaara sat in a small room meditating while Kankuro and Naruto slept. Temari was in the room that was connected to theirs by a door, sleeping soundly as well. Gaara frowned as he opened his eyes. He felt off, and his control over sand was a bit harder to do. His shield of sand still protected him, but when he wished to manipulate sand on his own, it took more of an effort and more chakra. He noticed this back in the forest, and when his sister had banged on his sand dome when she went berserk on the two Jinchuuriki. He sighed, and decided to continue meditating. Until he could find a way to figure out what that Orochimaru person had done, he could only bare with this problem and try and rest his body for now.

After all, he only had three more days until the second part of the exam was over. Who knows what could happen next?

**End of Chapter Eleven: Howdy there! This is chapter eleven in all it's Forest of Death glory...hm...I found it a bit short...but I guess it could have been worse. I wanted to change some things a bit, and I guess I succeeded at that. Anyway, Naruto's identity is officially known by team seven, but they'll keep his secret safe. Will he be able to hide it from the others without risking exposure? Well...I could tell you...but I won't, so ha! I may not have chapter twelve up for a week or so...but I promise that it will be full of fun, some humor, some possible fluff, and FLAMES OF YOUUUTH! Ahem...right. Leave me any thoughts, and I'll try and give you feedback! Later!**

**Jutsu notes:**

_**Jouro Senbon- (Sprinkling Needles)-**_ (Original) As the name implies, this technique involves a shower of senbon needles. Commonly used among Rain nin, this technique involves the user to throw their umbrella in the air and unleash a flurry of senbon down to the battlefield. By utilizing their chakra, the user can guide the needles towards their enemy.

_**Fuuton: Buyou no Senkaze no Jutsu-(Wind Release: Dance of a Thousand Winds Technique)-**_ (Mine) After his spar with Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro when he first came to Suna, Naruto had tried to work on the spinning move he had used to negate Temari's wind attack. He practiced at it for a few weeks until he had managed to get it down into a decent defense/broad area offense technique. Naruto spins around rapidly in a circle while releasing wind chakra from his palms. He creates a miniature whirlwind that deflects most weaponry and weak offense jutsu, as well as enemy shinobi nearby.

_**Suna **__**Kanadzuchi- (Sand Hammer)- **_(Mine) As Gaara trained with Naruto and his siblings, he thought that he should use less violent techniques, such as the _Sabaku Sousou_ (Desert Coffin). _Suna Kanadzuchi _is merely an attack where Gaara compacts his sand tendrils and gathers harder minerals from the soil to make a condensed bludgeon of sand to hit enemies with a lot of force. While not as lethal as his other techniques, it's faster and should be noted while fighting him.

_**Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu- (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)- **_(Original) A fire technique used in conjunciton with a guide wire that helps send a powerful stream of fire to the bound opponent. Sasuke actually used this in the Forest of Death in his battle against Orochimaru, and several times since then. Other shinobi of Konoha know this technique as well, such as Anko Mitarashi.

_**Zankuuha- (Decapitating Air Waves)-**_ (Original) The Sound ninja Zaku's signature technique. Using the air vents in his arms, Zaku can release blasts of supersonic waves and pressurized air. These blasts are so strong, they can aparantly break rock if enough power is put into them. Zaku uses this technique frequently in his battle against the Konoha nin in the Forest of Death.

_**Zankyokukuuha- (Extreme Decapitating Air Waves)-**_ (Original) Zaku's ultimate technique. It's basically a stronger version of the Zankuuha, except that it's much larger and is capable of wiping out an entire area in front of Zaku's line of fire. He uses this technique on team seven in the Forest of Death.

_**Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu-(Wind Release: Wind Blast Technique)-**_ (Mine) Is currently Naruto's most powerful wind technique. Simpy put, this attak is a wind based move where Naruto unleashes a high speed wind from his palms to blast away opponents. While it is powerful, Naruto still has a long way to go with perfecting the technique and maintaining control of it. He created this technique during his training in Suna with the Sand siblings and Baki.

_**Omoto Renge- (Front Lotus)-**_ (Original) A taijutsu techique that is in the forbidden category, due to the fact that it causes bodily strain to the user when it's used in combat. Lee opens up the Initial Gate (First Gate of the Eight Celestial Gates) and releases the restraints in the brain to push his body's limits further, such as increasing his speed and strength when Lee uses it. In Lee's case, he loosens up the bandages on his arms, and begins to dash around the enemy, and suddenly appears in front of them to deliver an upward kick, sending them into the air. Lee then jumps up into the air, chest facing the opponent's back, and wraps his arms and bandages around the opponent to prevent escape. As the two fall downward headfirst, Lee spins the two around at a high speed, and crashes them into the ground. At the last second, Lee lets go of the enemy and releases his bandages to prevent bodily damage from the fall. However, the attack still takes a toll on Lee since he experiences pain from opening the First Gate.

_**Baika no Jutsu- (Multi-Size Technique)- **_(Original) One of the Akimichi clan's signature techniques. This jutsu allows the user to alter the size of their body to various sizes. However, this technique uses up body calories, and therefore clan members are often seen eating high calorie food. In Chouji's case, these foods are potato chips usually. This technique is used frequently by Chouji throughout the series, often in conjunction with other clan techniques.

_**Kage Mane no Jutsu- (Shadow Imitation Technique)- **_(Original) A technique developed by the Nara clan that involves manipulating the users shadow with chakra. This shadow can further its reach by connecting with other shadows, however, the range of the move is limited by the surface area of the original shadow that was cast. Once the shadow reaches the opponents target shadow, the enemy is frozen in place, and limited to copying the moves of the shadow user, in this case Shikamaru, and speaking and looking around with their eyes. However, if the user's chakra is low, the move will begin to fail, and return to its caster. This move is used quite often by Shikamaru throughout the series, and surprisingly always seems to work on his opponents in the end.

_**Shintenshin no Jutsu- (Mind Body Change Technique)- **_(Original)One of the Yamanaka clan's signature techniques. The user makes a few handseals, and then projects their spirit out of their body towards another living being, be it human or animal. The user then has control of the opponent's body and mind, and casts the body's mind aside so that they can take control. However, while this technique is useful for spying and such, it does have its drawbacks. First and for most, it is a slow paced technique, and should the target move out of the way of the user's spirit's path, the user's body will be helpless and lifeless until the spirit returns to the body. Even if the move does work, the user's body will be lifeless, and unable to defend if attacked. Also, any damage done to the target's body, then the user's body will take damage as well when their spirit returns to the original body. Confusing explanation...chances are you already know how it works though, right? Ino uses this technique a few times throughout the series, the first time being on Sakura in the written test portion of the exam so she could steal Sakura's answers.

_**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu- (Water Clone Technique)-**_ (Original) A clone jutsu that involves creating water into a physical state matching the user. Unlike an ordinary Bunshin, one made of water has the ability to carry out attacks and deal damage. There are drawbacks though, such as the limited range of the water clone; it cannot travel to far from it's creator. Also, if attacked, the clone reverts back to its water state.

_**A/N**_- Wow...um...didn't see that coming with the jutsu notes...I think I'll be doing the one time deal with explanations for each technique...maybe I'll leave a note saying where to find the technique explanation afterwards...all I've got to say is helps a lot with jutsu definitions...and I also want to thank my friends at H&E for your suggestions and tips. By the way, if you've managed to read this far, I salute you...thanks much for reading over the results of my blood, sweat, and tears (of joy).


	12. Wind, Fists, and Steel!

**Disclaimer: Too bad Naruto doesn't have alternate universe fics like this...well then again, maybe that isn't so bad. Naruto's already got Sakura on his mind as far as eligible ladies, all the alternate pairings would be too much for the blonde...hm. Well, on with the story.**

**Chap. 12: Wind, Fists, and Steel!**

Naruto stood next to Temari as he and a large group of Genin faced the Hokage in a large arena. The Third was currently explaining the meaning behind the whole Chunin exams, and how it also related to various Hidden Villages' relations to each other. After the elderly man finished his speech, a rather sickly man stepped forward.

He coughed a bit as he began to speak, "I'm Hayate Gekkou, and I will be the proctor of the preliminary matches of the third round of the Chunin Exams. We still seem to have too many shinobi to conduct the final part of the exam, so these will serve as an elimination portion. Those who qualify will move on to the finals..." he coughed a bit, "Now then, before we begin, do any of you feel that you may wish to drop out? Your forfeiting will not affect your team; from here on out, you all fight for yourselves."

"I'll drop out of this." came the voice of the man named Kabuto. His name was taken, and he left the arena shortly after.

It turned out that matches would be randomly selected from a computer screen that was on one wall of the arena. The others stood and watched as the names of the remaining Genin flashed over the screen. It was deadly silent the whole time...and then.

"Will Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akadou please take their positions in the center of the arena. Everyone else please go to the balconies on either side of the arena." Hayate said, finishing with a final cough. Everyone did as asked, and Sasuke slowly walked to take his position. He grimaced as he felt a sharp pain through his body. He was finding it harder to dig into his chakra reserves without feeling the pain of this curse mark. Kakashi told him to bite down the pain until he was done with his fight. Luck seemed to give in for him; he was in the first match.

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Sakura was standing next to Kakashi, watching as the two contestants prepared themselves, "Kakashi-sensei...is Sasuke going to be okay?"

Kakashi looked over to his pink-haired student, and smiled a bit, "Don't worry, Sakura. You forget how tough Sasuke can be when the time calls for it."

She nodded, and turned back to the fighters. She noticed a presence next to her, and looked to see Temari, "Hello, Sakura."

Sakura smiled at the older kunoichi. She had found herself making fast friends with the Suna shinobi, and it helped that Naruto had told his team about revealing his identity to them during their time in the forest. Temari found out after Gaara and Naruto made it through, and immediately approached Sakura to talk about it...

_**Flashback**_

_Sakura had been sitting in the lounge of the tower, a little more than one hour after they had gotten back from the forest. She heard some footsteps, and turned to see a blonde haired kunoichi approaching her._

_'Looks like she found out...' Sakura thought, seeing the stern look in Temari's eyes._

_Temari stopped in front of Sakura, "So...you know of Naro...huh?"_

_Sakura nodded, and smiled a bit, "Don't worry...I won't tell..."_

_Temari nodded, "For your sake, you better not. Naro means the world to me...harm him, and I'll harm you by one hundred fold."_

_Sakura nodded, and let a genuine smile form, "Don't worry, Temari-san. Naro is like a little brother to me. It makes me happy to see that he has someone who cares for him that way in his life." She giggled a bit, and Temari softened her expression to a grin._

_"Heheh, you know, he told me that he used to tick you off a lot. He actually gets scared at the thought of seeing you angry..." Temari chuckled, "Well, that is until he got on the bad end of my temper today."_

_Sakura raised an eyebrow, "What did the baka do?"_

_Temari laughed, then shook her head, "He had me and Kankuro worried, since he and Gaara were taking too long in the forest. Those two are the strongest on our team; they should have arrived before us."_

_Sakura looked down, "That's...because they decided to help us..."_

_Temari nodded, "It's okay..." she held out a hand, "I wanted to thank you for taking care of Gaara and Naro when they were unconscious in the forest. I owe you."_

_Sakura took her hand, "It's nothing. Naro would have done the same for me. You're brother seems very polite too for a shinobi."_

_Temari sweatdropped a bit, "Heheh, he's...changed a bit since meeting Naro."_

_The two girls talked for awhile, and found they had similar ideals on being kunoichi of their respective villages. Temari was a bit worried when Sakura told about Gaara's encounter with Orochimaru, but felt better in the knowledge that he was alive._

_"Well, Sakura, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. I think I've gained a new respect for the kunoichi of Konoha; I thought they were all about looks...you convinced me otherwise. Thank you." Temari then left to go and meet up with her team._

_**End Flashback**_

Sakura and Temari faced the battle floor below them, and watched as Hayate threw his hand in the air, then let it fall, "Begin!"

Sasuke was immediately on defense as Yoroi attacked with Taijutsu. Sasuke took a few hits, and felt slightly winded after a few minutes. Yoroi quickly appeared behind Sasuke all of the sudden, and wrapped his hand around the back of Sasuke's neck. Sasuke felt himself growing weaker, and with a strained effort, got out of the shinobi's grip. He gave Yoroi surprised look.

"Heheh, so, I see you've realized my secret." Yoroi said as his hands glowed blue, "I can drain my opponents chakra by mere contact. You seem to be having trouble with your chakra coils right now...so I guess I'll just take it if you're not using it." the older Genin ran at him again.

Sasuke couldn't even activate his Sharingan anymore. He was relying on poor reflex and speed right now. His mind was quickly trying to find a way out of this mess, _'Dang it...what can I do? Ninjutsu is out of the question...I'm only half as good as Sakura at Genjutsu...I guess...'_

Sasuke smirked as he remembered the words of his sensei, _'Even if a shinobi doesn't have Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, they still have Taijutsu.'_

The raven haired boy hopped to the left to avoid another jab, and quickly ducked. He dropped to his knees, and sent Yoroi into the air with a powerful rising kick. Yoroi was surprised when as he ascended into the air to find himself facing Sasuke. He tried to block a few punches and kicks. Sasuke kicked the man further into the air, much to everyone's surprise, then followed up with something unexpected.

"What the-?" Yoroi faintly sensed the chakra signature of Sasuke behind him.

"That first part was a copy of someone else's move, _but _there's more where that came from!!!!" Sasuke

Sasuke begun by spinning himself around so he could lay a kick to his side. Yoroi blocked while laughing, "Heh, nice try, kid!"

Sasuke kept that smirk on his face, "I wasn't finished..." he spun the opposite direction, and delivered a powerful sidearm to Yoroi's face from the other side. As the two descended further down, Sasuke spun around again, delivering a fist to the stomach. Yoroi let out a breath, and coughed some blood up, "Here's the best part!" Sasuke spun one final time as Yoroi neared the floor, and delivered another spinning axe kick to the man's chest. Yoroi let out a cry and coughed up more blood before falling unconcious. Sasuke rolled over a bit, and let out a breath, "Heh...there, that's the_** Shishi**__**Rendan**_...enjoy..." Sasuke kept a look on the man, hoping that the man wouldn't suddenly get up. That attack had taken alot out of him, even after a day of rest. This Curse Mark was giving him hell.

Hayate took a good look at Yoroi, and nodded, "The winner of this round is Sasuke Uchiha by knock out." Yoroi was quickly hauled by medic-nin to the recovery room on a stretcher. Sasuke was ushered by Kakashi. Before the two left, he took a look at Sakura.

"Sakura...if you have the next round, then do your best. I have to attend to Sasuke, but I wish you good luck." he gave her a one-eyed smile, and left with the Uchiha boy, who gave his kunoichi partner a nod.

Hayate waited until it was quiet again, and nodded while stifling another cough, "Well, the next round is Shino Aburame versus Zaku. Will the contestants please report to the floor?"

Shino quietly began towards the floor, "Do your best, Shino." Hinata said quietly, followed by a bark from Akamaru.

"That guy shouldn't be a problem for you at all, Shino." Kiba added, giving his quiet teammate a grin. Shino nodded quietly and recieved a small nod from Kurenai.

Zaku smirked as he looked at the boy he was facing off against. There wasn't anything special about him, and he seemed to be one of those 'strong, silent types' like so many tried to be in the ninja world, "Heh, any last words before I mow you down?" Zaku asked.

"You really shouldn't be so overconfident; underestimating your opponent can lead to a quick defeat in battle." Shino retorted calmly.

Hayate looked over the two, and gave the signal to start. Zaku wasted no time, and blasted a quick wave of air at the shady boy, "_**Zankuuha**_!"

Shino quickly jumped to the side, barely avoiding the attack. He a few kunai at Zaku, and ran to the side as the Sound ninja blasted the projectiles away. Zaku smirked as he saw that he was able to keep his opponent at a distance. He aimed his arms at the shade-wearing boy, and prepared to fire when Shino stopped, "I wouldn't recommend that. I've won this match."

Zaku laughed, "Heh, that won't work on me. I'm not falling for any mind games today!" Zaku began to power up his air waves, when he felt something blocking his air flow, "What the?"

Shino nodded, "I've sent my bugs into your air ducts while you were occupied with aiming your next attack at me." Shino was suddenly covered in his kikaichu beetles, "I suggest you surrender."

Zaku growled, "Yeah, as if! I'll just blast them out, and then beat you! Eat this!!!!" Zaku released the air and...

...the sound of screaming pain was heard as the boys arms each blasted off, and a few gasps were heard in the audience. Zaku, shaking from the pain, looked at his arms, and then to Shino, "I warned you not to underestimate me..."

Zaku passed out from shock, and the medics rushed in before Hayate could even call the match over. Hayate didn't even need to hesitate, "The winner of the second match is Shino Aburame." The sounds of barking and cheering were heard from Kiba and Akamaru, followed by some strained claps from the Jounin. However, the results of that match had been a bit gruesome...not something expected from a Genin. As the silence once again settled, Hayate turned to the computer screen.

"Very well..." Hayate coughed, "the next round is..." he waited for the computer to stop, "Kankuro versus Misumi Tsurugi."

Gaara took a quick look at Kankuro, "Kankuro, good luck, and be careful. If your opponent can drain chakra like his partner, then you may be in trouble with using Karasu."

Baki nodded, "Gaara's got a point, Kakuro. Be on your guard down there."

Kankuro nodded, "Right right. I'll be done with this match within a minute or two either way, Karasu or not."

Naruto gave Kankuro a slap on the back, "Mop the floor with him, Kankuro!"

Baki sighed, "Naro...shinobi don't 'mop the floor' to win a fight. Going head on in a fight isn't always the best way at doing things."

Kankuro laughed before walking casually down the stairs to face off his opponent. Much like Yoroi, Misumi had purple attire, and a mask covering his face. He also wore clear glasses, where Yoroi had been wearing black ocular lenses. Kankuro gave the guy a smirk, "Don't think this will be easy for you. I'm not a pushover like the younger shinobi here."

Misumi laughed, "You're smug little jerk, aren't you? All talk, and nothing else."

Hayate took a step back, and coughed, "Begin!"

Kankuro stood there, a disinterested look on his face, "Well...? Are you going to attack?"

Misumi ran at Kankuro, and punched Kankuro in the stomach, earning a cough from Kankuro. Misumi quickly followed up with a kick to the neck, and then let Kankuro fall to the ground, "See? What did I say? All talk, and nothing else..."

Kankuro got up, and let out a ragged breath, "Heh...not bad...heh..."

Kankuro ran at Misumi, and quickly threw a few shuriken, which Misumi deflected with a kunai. Kankuro reappeared behind Misumi while he was distracted, and put a kunai to the man's neck, "Got you." Kankuro had a hold of one of Misumi's hands.

Misumi laughed, and popped his shoulder out of place, and grabbed the kunai from Kankuro. He then, much to the shock of the younger shinobi, wrapped an arm around Kankuro. Not just once...but twice...like that of a snake.

"What kind of freak are you?" Kankuro asked through a choked breath.

"A little talent of mine. I can pop joints out of place, and twist my muscles in any way I wish. Nice, huh?" he tightened the hold on Kankuro's neck, and spoke again, "I'll just wait until you black out, and go onto the finals. How's that sound?"

Kankuro, however laughed. Misumi suddenly saw the bundle of bandages on the Suna-nin's back burst open, and another Kankuro. Misumi looked back at the person he was holding only to see paint chipping off, "What?"

The free Kankuro laughed, "Yeah, well you're not the only one who's got a few tricks up his sleeves. Say hello to Karasu!"

The sound of a snap was heard, and Kankuro spoke to Hayate, "Don't worry, he's just out cold...I made sure of it."

Hayate was surprised to see how quickly the tides had turned. Kankuro had snapped the neck of Misumi with his puppet, and won the round. He was pretty sure that with Misumi's talent in joint manipulation, he'd be allright...still, it was kind of scary seeing Kankuro simply snap the neck of an enemy so quickly. Technically, Kankuro never even touched the man...

"The winner of this match is Kankuro." Hayate announced, and Kankuro gave a quick nod before heading back to his team. As he reached his teammates, he looked to see Naruto giving him a thumbs up.

"Heh, you went easy on him, Kankuro. I was hoping for an explosion from Karasu or something." Naro spoke, and Kankuro shrugged.

"Eh, the guy wasn't worth it." Kankuro smirked, and saw Temari come up to him.

"Geez, always one to act like an arrogant jerk in battle, aren't you?" she sighed, and gave him a smile, "Nice job, Kankuro." The puppet user gave a grin, then looked to Baki, who gave a nod. Kankuro had always been one to do things the sneakiest way possible, and loved to play mind games with his opponents.

1212121212

Sakura looked down towards the left of where she and the other Konoha-nin were to see Naruto's team was. So far, Kankuro had proven that he was a crafty fighter. She wondered what other skills the Suna team had. She knew that Naruto had gained control over his wind affinity thanks to help from some scrolls and tutoring from Temari and their sensei. She looked back to the screen, and waited silently as the names flashed on the screen. When they stopped, she tightened her fist.

"Will Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno please come to the floor?" Hayate called out. Sakura felt herself grow tense, but felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Kakashi looking at her with a reassuring smile she had learned to recognize behind the mask.

"Do your best Sakura." he said, and she nodded. She wasn't going to lose, especially to her rival (and renewed best friend). As she walked down to the floor, she saw Naruto give her a thumbs up and grin behind his cloth scarf, and a nod from Temari. She felt herself grow in confidence upon seeing foreign ninja give her support, and was soon walking side by side with her opponent.

"You ready, Sakura?" Ino asked, a competitive glint in her eye. Sakura felt herself grin. Ino wasn't going to go easy on her; she wasn't expecting anything less.

"Allright, the fourth match of Ino Yamanaka versus Sakura Haruno is about to start." Hayate spoke, and he looked to the two kunoichi. Both nodded, and went into their respective stances, "Begin!"

Sakura quickly pulled out three kunai from her holster, and threw them at Ino. Ino, as expected, avoided them with a quick sidestep, and ran to her opponent, "Not bad, but not good enough, Sakura!"

Sakura and Ino were soon locked in a Taijutsu match of kicks and blocks. Sakura silently thanked Kakashi for spending those few extra hours every evening to work on her Taijutsu with her. Ino had always been a bit faster in attacks, Sakura wouldn't deny that. However, what Sakura lacked in that narrow margin of speed was made up in her greater amount of strength.

Ino caught a punch from Sakura, and smirked, "Wow, Forehead, you've gotten better, haven't you?"

Sakura smiled, "Don't take me lightly; I'm not the little girl that you used to know." Sakura tripped Ino up, but the blonde quickly recovered by landing on her hand, and tried for a low kick to Sakura's feet. Sakura flipped backwards, and quickly ran back to engage in combat again. Her style of fighting was based relentless attacking and being able to counter any strike thrown at her.

Ino leaned back to avoid a spin kick from Sakura, and caught Sakura's calf as she recovered. She tripped up the leg Sakura was standing on, and pushed Sakura to the ground. As Sakura slid on her back, Ino jumped into the air, feet aimed to land a stomp on Sakura's abdomen. Sakura rolled to the side, and pulled out a kunai as Ino landed. She attempted to go for Ino's calf, but Ino quickly jumped back. Sakura smiled, and threw her weapon at the blonde. Ino, unable to dodge as she landed from her evasive manuever, took the weapon to the shoulder.

Sakura felt a slight pang of guilt as Ino let out a yelp of pain, but shook it off as Ino pulled it out and grinned in pain, "Good, I'm glad you know enough not to hold back." Ino gripped the kunai, and pulled her ponytail back. She quickly cut at her long hair, and a gasp was heard from the crowd, namely from Shikamaru, Chouji, and Asuma.

"Oh, great, she's lost it..." Shikamaru groaned, and a nod was heard from Chouji. Ino tossed the hair in front of her, and smiled at the perplexed look that Sakura gave her.

"Ino, what was that all about?" Sakura asked, not entirely sure if this was just Ino losing her mind, or a trick. Sakura sensed something deeper than just the simple act of cutting her hair to get Sakura to drop her guard.

Ino smiled as she dropped the kunai, "Don't think that you're the only one willing to sacrifice your looks to win this battle, Sakura." she pointed to Sakura's hair, and Sakura seemed to understand, "I saw that fight in the Forest of Death, and it showed how much of a fighter you really are. I can't lose to that."

Sakura was about to move, when she felt herself glued to the ground, "What?"

Ino laughed, "Sorry, Sakura, I win this. Those hairs are actually connecting a fine line of chakra from me to you...and I've got you right in my line of sight." She made a hand seal, and smirked, "This match is mine."

Sakura seemed to catch on, knowing a little about Ino's abilities. She quickly made a few seals, and a small smirk was seen under Kakashi's face, "Looks like Sakura's going all out...can't blame her though." It seemed Ino as unconcerned with Sakura's hand seals. After all, the blonde had Sakura trapped, and the _**Shintenshin no Jutsu**_ was hard to break out of once you were hit by it...however, Sakura seemed to have pulled something

Ino smirked as she saw Sakura remain stuck in place. However, when Sakura suddenly collapsed to the ground, Ino gasped. Did she screw up the technique? How? Ino was supposed to slump over as well. Oh no...Sakura's mind could be permanently damaged! She ran over to see Sakura's eyes dilated, a small bit of drool coming from her mouth. The worst part was that Sakura seemed to be bleeding from the ears. Oh no, this was bad!

"Sakura?? Sakura!!" Ino shook Sakura's shoulders, and noticed that suddenly things began to blur. Suddenly she found Sakura to be normal again, and Ino immediately caught on, "Genjutsu!"

Ino recieved a kick to the stomach, and managed to land, a bit shaky, but still breathing. Sakura got up, a little weary, but smiling, "I told you, don't take me lightly, Ino."

Kakashi smiled, "Nice work, Sakura." He was quite proud to see Sakura had taken his Genjutsu lessons to heart; he remembered how easily it had come to the pink-haired girl to learn the _**Narakumi no Jutsu**_ after getting the basics down. He made a note not to get on Sakura's bad side; she was merciless with the art of illusion.

Ino and Sakura continued their bout of close combat, and the two were soon hanging on the last bit of fibers of their strength. Both were good; but neither were known for endurance in battle.

_'It all comes down to this...' _Sakura thought, and went into her stance, and Ino followed suit. The two ran at each other, and let out a battle cry that would made Anko Mitarashi smile with pride. She was wondering if this generation had any female ninja worth acknowledging.

Everyone watched as Ino and Sakura each delivered a kick to the other's face, and the two fell back unconscious. Hayate looked over the two, and then spoke, "As proctor of this match, I declare neither a winner by double knock-out."

Kakashi sighed, but couldn't help but feel a small bit of pride for his female student. He headed down with Asuma and gave his friend a nod, "That Ino sure is one tough cookie." the silver haired man commented. Asuma laughed in response.

"Well, I could say the same for Sakura. She's definitely an intelligent kunoichi; Kurenai was quite impressed with how well she executed that Genjutsu of hers so quickly. No doubt you taught her that." the bearded man spoke, and Kakashi only nodded as they each carried their students up to the balcony where their teammates were.

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Naruto looked over to Sakura, and noticed Temari give a glance over to her as well. Naruto decided to see how she was, and with Temari the two walked over to her. It seemed she and Ino were waking up, and were each grinning to each other. Sakura noticed the two Suna-nin, and she smiled with a hint of dissapointment, "Well, looks like I lost..."

Ino gave her a light jab on the arm, "Hey, it was a draw, not a loss. You're forgetting that I didn't advance either."

Naro nodded, "Great job, Sakura! Man, you and Ino did great out there! I wasn't expecting such a close match like that." This earned a light blush from both girls sitting on the balcony floor.

Sakura noticed Temari take a step forward, "I have to agree with Naro; you two were great out there. Gives us kunoichi something to be proud of." she smiled at Sakura, and Sakura nodded thankfully. Ino did likewise.

Suddenly, Hayate's voice broke over the others, "The next match will be between Temari and Tenten!"

Temari gave a look over to the computer screen, and nodded to herself, "Well, looks like I'm up next."

Naro gave her a thumbs up, "Don't beat your opponent up too much, okay? Remember what Baki-sensei said about overkill."

Temari sighed, "Naro, you should talk." Naruto blushed a bit, and Temari giggled, "Sorry, I'm just teasing you." She gave him a light peck on the visible part of his face, and winked before hopping down the edge of the balcony. Sakura couldn't help but notice that Naruto's visible portion of his face was a beet red. She giggled upon seeing that, and slowly got up.

Naruto was leaning over the bars of the balcony a bit, and excitement was clearly written on his face if one looked in his eyes. Sakura smiled, once again thankful that someone had brought such joy to his life, "Naruto...is she really that tough?" she asked quietly, only loud enough for the blonde next to her to hear. He nodded quickly.

"You know that wind technique I used back in the Forest of Death against that Sound ninja?" she nodded in response to his question, "She helped teach me how to manipulate the wind properly for it. I may be _stronger _when it comes to using wind, but she's _better _at using wind. I wouldn't really want to go toe to toe with her in a strictly _Fuuton_ based match. It would totally be in her favor."

Sakura's expression was of a bit of surprise mixed with admiration. For someone to recieve praise from Naruto was quite an accomplisment. She suddenly felt a greater respect for the blonde haired kunoichi down on the arena below them, "Wow..."

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Temari took a good look at the girl before her. She appeared to be shorter, and her build showed that she did keep in decent shape. She had brown hair and equally brown eyes, and wore her hair in two tight buns.

_'She's smart, long hair is definitely a danger in battle.'_ Temari noted, thinking of how she kept her own hair in four ponytails. She looked to the proctor, and Hayate coughed before speaking.

"Right...the fifth round of the preliminaries is Temari versus Tenten. Begin!"

Tenten took a quick look to see that Temari hadn't moved from her spot. That last fight between Ino and Sakura had rattled up the aggressive kunoichi within her, and her ambidextrous hands itched to start throwing a barrage of kunai. She shook her head; rushing headlong into a fight wouldn't do her any good. She analyzed the situation, and noticed a fan strapped to the Suna-kunoichi's back. Temari noticed, and smirked.

"Listen, nothing personal, but I really don't think you should wait for me to attack. As much as I am for chit-chat, I'd like to get this over with." Temari recieved a reply that conisted of several large knives being thrown her way. She quickly deflected them with the metallic part of her fan. Good, this girl wasn't one to mess around either.

"Heh. Well, I'm glad you're at least paying attention to the battle, and not your boyfriend up there...though even from behind his little scarf, I can tell he's a real cutie." Tenten retorted, and Temari's eye twitched with what Naruto could identify even from his view as jealousy.

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"Uh oh...Tenten's in trouble..." Naruto whispered, and Sakura cast him a quick glance.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, feeling a rise in killer intent from the battle below.

"Um...Temari-chan, though very sweet and caring...is a bit possessive of...um..."

"...You?" Sakura finished, a grin on her face. Naruto nodded, and prayed that his girlfriend wouldn't go and lob off the Konoha-kunoichi's head out of anger. Tenten was innocent, in all fairness. She knew nothing of Temari's quick--and vicious--temper.

"Go, Tenten! You can do it!" came the cheer of Lee, no more than several feet away from the two.

"That's the spirit, Lee! Cheer your teammate to victory! Go Tenten!!!" replied Gai, a man who Lee resembled in all aspects but age, height, and the fact that he wasn't a Jounin.

Neji Hyuuga was leaning against a wall, covering his face with his hand, wondering for the upteenth time why fate decided that his life was the one with the huge 'Make him as miserable as possible' sign on it. He groaned, and watched the battle from his view. He seriously wondered what was taking so long. Tenten usually wasn't so hesitant in battle, but he seemed to notice that she was shaking...

"Tenten's afraid?" Neji asked himself, unsure what caused his female teammate to grow scared all of the sudden.

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Tenten attempted to control her temper as she heard the voices of Lee and Gai rung throughout the arena. She seemed be shaking with anger, and took a deep breath, and exhaled, "Okay, time to get serious!" Tenten launched a unexpectedly large number of various projectiles at Temari. The blonde quickly snapped open her fan, and with a single wave, knocked the incoming weapons without more than a blinkng of her eyes. Tenten growled, "Darn it...she can deflect using her fan..."

Temari sighed, "Listen, if you're going to do that, you may as well try something else or give up. I haven't even opened it up to the second moon, and I really don't want things to get messy. So...you got any other tricks up your sleeve, or do I have to end this?"

Tenten's eyes twitched, catching on to the subtle jabs at her pride, "Fine, let's see how long you can keep up with me!" Tenten pulled out a chain of kunai, and with what could only be described as expertise beyond her age, began throwing weapons at a rapid fire pace. Tenten's reputation as a marksman kunoichi stood true; she would have hit Temari if it wasn't for the fact that said blonde was deflecting all the attacks with a now increased effort.

Temari groaned, "Come on! I wanted a challenge, not a warm up!" Temari snapped open her fan when she found her chance, and blasted Tenten back, causing the brunette to slam into the opposite wall. She let out a cry of pain, but got up and chucked more projectiles. Temari was beginning to see a pattern, deflect, knock back, deflect, knock back...

"I think I get it now..." Tenten said, pulling out a scroll, "You're a long range fighter...I'll be honest, so am I...but..." she opened up the scroll, and with a quick application of chakra, a decent sized bo staff appeared, "...I'm the student of one of the greatest Taijutsu Masters around, so I know enough close combat skills to fight you!" she ran at Temari, and made a jab with the blunt end of her staff towards Temari's abdomen. Temari blocked, and jumped back as Tenten tried to aim for her jaw with a foot.

"Finally, I was wondering if you had anything else up your sleeves." Temari, while not a Taijutsu specialist by any means, did have basic skills in close combat. She blocked another swing from Tenten, and managed to nail her in the stomach with a quick manuvering of the blunt end of her fan. Tenten fell back a bit, but let out a battle cry and spun her staff around a few times before managing to hit Temari in the hand. The sound of a crack was heard, and Temari bit back a scream, noting that her ring and pink fingers were broken on her left hand, and her wrist may have fractured as well. She'd have to end this quick; Tenten wasn't going to back down it seemed until Temari was out cold.

Temari jumped back again, and with a grunt of pain from opening her fan to two moons, she swung her fan, knocking Tenten back again.

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Gaara and Kankuro seemed to notice their sister was taking things a step further, "Oh boy, she's either desperate to end this, or she wants to give that girl some serious pain." the puppet user sighed, and a nod from Gaara was his reply.

Baki noticed Temari give a quick glance to her left hand every few seconds. Tenten had managed to score a blow to the blonde, it seemed. He would have to get her healed up, later on; she wasn't one to let others know of her injuries.

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Tenten sealed her bo staff back into her scroll, and smirked, "Well, it looks like you took me lightly. I hope you learned something from that wrist of yours," she took out two other scrolls, and set them on the ground, "_**Soushouryuu**_!" She made a few seals, and the scrolls rose into the air, followed by a stream of smoke from either scroll. Dragon-like head formed where the scrolls were, and Tenten jumped into the air as the streams of smoke revealed to be the actual scrolls unraveled paper. Temari immediately recognized hundreds of seals on the paper. As the two scrolls spiraled around the kunoichi, Tenten began to release weapons from their seals. She began throwing them at a very quick rate, much faster than before.

Temari couldn't help but smirk; she had to admit it, Tenten was good, but she left herself open for Temari's assault, "Sorry, but this is where it ends! _**Kamaitachi**_!"

Tenten had no time to react as she watched her weapons get blown aside by a cyclone of very high speed wind. Tenten was soon caught up in it as well, and let out scream of pain as she felt herself get cut by razor sharp winds. Temari was glad she held back a bit on using her technique; Naruto hated it when she went overboard like that. Tenten fell to the ground, in a heap, and let out a groan. She blinked to see the ceiling spinning above her, and she closed her eyes as unconcsiousness took her.

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Naruto let out a breath, "Good, I was worried she'd go and blast Tenten into next week with that fan of hers. Tenten should be okay in a day at most." Naruto nodded, his hands both tingling as he let go of his wind sensing technique he had no name for. That last attack of Temari's had really torn the ground apart where Tenten landed. A team of medic nin took her to the recovery room while the screen yet again flashed through the names. Temari made her way back up, hoping that she would at least be able to see Tenten again before she left the tower. She had now come to respect to kunoichi in Konoha; she was starting to see hope for the female ninja in this village afterall.

"Now then," Hayate announced in a hoarse voice, "will Shikamaru Nara and Kin Tsuchi please come down to the battle floor so we can begin the sixth match?"

"Aw, _come on_. This is such a drag..." came the voice of the laziest shinobi in all of Konoha. He groaned as he recieved a pat on the back from Chouji, followed by a louder than necessary cheer from Ino, "I may just quit this match and-"

"No way! We came this far, and we're not going to let you give up before you even try!" Ino berated as Chouji smirked at his poor friend. Asuma rolled his eyes; for a genius, Shikamaru really didn't know when to just give up sometimes and do what the blonde girl said.

Shikamaru slouched a bit, and slowly walked down the stairs to get this _'troublesome'_ match over with. He eyed his opponent, and internally groaned, '_Great, a girl...and she's the one from before...dang it, why do I always get stuck with such annoying-_'

"Ready to get beaten, shadow boy?" Kin said mockingly. The young Nara sighed, '_She stinks at taunting too..._'

"Well, then let this match," Hayate raised his arm, and dropped it to the ground, "Begin!"

Kin wasted no time, and threw a few senbon at Shikamaru, who used reflexes contrasting his demeanor to block them. He noticed a few missed by quite a few inches...something was up...

"I guess I'm going to get a chance to make you pay for messing up our plans back in the forest earlier. I'm going to _enjoy _this..."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, and tossed a kunai, which she dodged as he began to notice how bad her aim was...or how far away she was trying to throw the needles while attempting to hit him. He felt one puncture his arm, and he grunted in pain as he pulled it out, "That was a close one...any closer and I could be a goner..." he noted as he thought of how close a major blood vessel had been to where the needle hit. She was serious, it seemed.

That's when he heard it...bells?

_Cling! Cling! Cling!_

Shikamaru suddenly saw his vision grow hazy, then everything began spinning. He noticed what appeared to be several dozen Kin appearing as the sound began to destroy his sense of balance, but then he suddenly stopped lurching around as he was now facing not one, but about forty some Oto-kunoich, "Not good..." he said, trying to see if he could find a way to pick out the real deal from the illusions.

"How do you like it? By using the sound of bells that I pull from a string connected to my senbon..." she demonstrated by pulling a string on her finger, which pulled a bell on a senbon lodged in an opposite wall, "I can use the soundwaves to mess with your sense of balance and confuse your senses..." she pulled out another couple of senbon, "Now...time to finish this..."

Shikamaru noticed his chance, and took it, "Tch, I've already one."

Kin smirked, "Idiot, you really-" she tried to move but noticed that her body would not respond to her demands, "What the-?"

Shikamaru noticed the illusions dissapear, and he got up, and cracked his neck, which Kin did as well. He squatted down, and she followed suit, "Heh, _**Kage Mane no Jutsu**_ has worked again...you know, using string to manipulate those bells was clever and all...but my shadow can connect to any existing shadow...and that string connected to your fingers left just the right shadow for the job." Shikamaru pulled out a kunai from his holster, and Kin followed suit, and much to her surprise found herself gripping a kunai as well from her own weapons pouch.

"What are you doing?" she growled, noticing the look on his face was a bored one, "So you've trapped me in a technique, now what? You feel whatever the target feels, right?" she smirked as he shrugged, and she did likewise.

"You got me, but, I'll have you know that I can do more than that...how about we play a game of chicken...whoever manages to hit the other with a kunai wins...sound fun?" Shikamaru smirked as her expression was suddenly one of worry.

"You're crazy!" she had no time to react as they each threw a kunai in the air, aimed for the other's head. Shikamaru leaned back to avoid the weapon while Kin did likewise, a small grin on her face, "Ha, what a waste! I'll just avoid the kunai t-" she didn't finish her sentence as her head banged against the wall opposite of her, knocking her out.

"If she had payed more attention to where she was, maybe she could have done thing differently...a true shinobi always takes note of their terrain..." Shikamaru decided to end his little lecture to no one in particular and headed back up the stairs, recieving a miniature victory celebration from his two teammates. Ino congratulated him while Chouji said he knew that Shikamaru had it in the bag the whole time.

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Naruto sat back as he watched the screen roll through the names again. He felt a little on edge, wanting to fight badly. That's when his prayers were answered, "Will Naro Uzaki and Kiba Inuzuka please come down to the arena to start the seventh round?"

Naruto let out a whoop of joy and practically ran down the steps before he was caught by the collar. He looked up to see Baki, "Naro, remember all that we taught you. Try not to rush things...patience can be just as great of a weapon as strength."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but then gave the older man a sincere masked grin, "Thanks, Baki-sensei, I'll do my best!" He waved to Kankuro and Temari, and nodded to Gaara before hopping down the steps, and taking his place on the floor.

Kiba Inuzuka smirked as he eyed his opponent up. The kid was a squirt in terms of build, and he looked to be no more than Kiba in age, "Heh, this one's in the bag." he then heard a bark from Akamaru, "What do you mean?" Akamaru barked again, "Smell...no I don't...hey...yeah...I do recognize that scent..." he spoke in a whisper, "Do I know this guy from somewhere?"

Naruto and Kiba squared off, and Hayate already knew this match would prove to be one of the best ones yet, "Very well...fighters take your places and...begin!"

**End of Chapter Twelve: Well, here we are! The Preliminary rounds of the final phase of the Chunin exams are well on there way. In case you didn't notice, I did change things a little. A major one being the fight between Sakura and Ino and their whole scuffle. The two actually fought in this one. I also gave Tenten more time before she was taken out. Why the bo staff? Well, you see her training with one in the opening song of Naruto during the episodes where Naruto fights Sasuke at the Valley of the End and afterwards, and to be honest, I think she does any weapon justice. So why not let her give Temari a decent fight. Maybe I just have a soft spot for the kunoichi...bah, whatever. Aside from that, there were a few changes here and there, but the results were the same. Yes, I had to end it at Naruto versus Kiba. One because I was eager to get the chapter out, and two because I like giving you these horrible cliffhangers/ending chapters at an intense moment. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe...I hope not. Anyway, thanks for reading, and let me know what you think! Until then, later!**

**Jutsu notes:**

_**Shishi**__**Rendan- (Lion Combo)-**_ (Original)_**-**_ A Taijutsu combo move used by Sasuke based on the beginning movements of Rock Lee's _**Omoto Renge**_. He then follows them after kicking them into the air, shadowing their movements in the same manner. Up to this point, Sasuke had used his Sharingan to copy the technique, but after this point, Sasuke made his own changes. He begins by striking the opponent from a vulnerable angle as the fall, and if it's blocked, he will still attack as a feint. He then attacks from the undefended area of the opponents body with a series of punches and kicks, and as the opponent nears the ground, he finishes them with a forceful kick to the chest area.

_**Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu-(Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)-**_ (Original) A Genjutsu move used by Kakashi first in the series when he trapped Sakura in a Genjutsu to defeat her in the bell test for Team Seven. This Genjutsu causes the user to see a horrifying vision, in the case of Sakura versus Ino, Sakura supposedly dying from Ino's _**Shintenshin no Jutsu**_ failing to work correctly. Once this illusion is cast, the world around the target will appear normal until they see the illusion. Sakura learned this technique from Kakashi during their preparation for the Chunin Exams.

_**Shintenshin no Jutsu- (Mind Body Change Technique)- **_(Original)One of the Yamanaka clan's signature techniques. The user makes a few handseals, and then projects their spirit out of their body towards another living being, be it human or animal. The user then has control of the opponent's body and mind, and casts the body's mind aside so that they can take control. However, while this technique is useful for spying and such, it does have its drawbacks. First and for most, it is a slow paced technique, and should the target move out of the way of the user's spirit's path, the user's body will be helpless and lifeless until the spirit returns to the body. Even if the move does work, the user's body will be lifeless, and unable to defend if attacked. Also, any damage done to the target's body, then the user's body will take damage as well when their spirit returns to the original body.

_**Zankuuha- (Decapitating Air Waves)-**_ (Original) The Sound ninja Zaku's signature technique. Using the air vents in his arms, Zaku can release blasts of supersonic waves and pressurized air. These blasts are so strong, they can aparantly break rock if enough power is put into them. Zaku uses this technique frequently in his battle against the Konoha nin in the Forest of Death.

_**Kage Mane no Jutsu- (Shadow Imitation Technique)- **_(Original) A technique developed by the Nara clan that involves manipulating the users shadow with chakra. This shadow can further its reach by connecting with other shadows, however, the range of the move is limited by the surface area of the original shadow that was cast. Once the shadow reaches the opponents target shadow, the enemy is frozen in place, and limited to copying the moves of the shadow user, in this case Shikamaru, and speaking and looking around with their eyes. However, if the user's chakra is low, the move will begin to fail, and return to its caster.

_**Kamaitachi- (Cutting Whirlwind Technique)-**_ (Oringinal)_**-**_ A technique developed by Temari that involves her using her fan to create a powerful wind that raises the opponent into the air with chakra, forming a tornado around the victim. As the target is kept in the air, sickling winds begin to cut at the opponent.

_**Soushouryuu- (Twin Rising Dragons)-**_ (Original)_**-**_ Tenten's trump card technique during the time of the Chunin Exams. Tenten sets to summoning scrolls on the ground next to her, and performs a few seals. After performing the necessary seals, the two scrolls rise into the air, swirling around her in a vortex like manner. Tenten then jumps into the air in between these two scrolls, and summons weapons from the seals to attack her opponents with deadly accuracy. If Tenten fails to hit her target on her first attempt, she can retrieve her weapons back with wire attached to each weapon that she has running to her fingertips to call the weapons back for a second try. The one downside is how vulnerable Tenten is to Wind attacks while in the air.

_**A/N**_- I'd like to once again thank those at H&E for refreshing my memory on the Chunin Exam Preliminary matches. I appreciate the help a lot! Thanks!


	13. What do you Fight for?

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, not me. As always, I don't own anything from Naruto...aside from a few games, and that's about it...oh yeah, and a manga or two...**

**Chap. 13: What do you Fight for?**

Naruto jumped to the side as a few shuriken flew at him. He found himself looking into the face of Kiba suddenly, "Got you."

Naruto blocked a fist to the face, and jumped back a bit as he made a seal, "_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_!" four Naruto clones appeared out of smoke, and they all went into a battle stance as Kiba smirked.

"Heh, too easy!" Kiba ran at the clones with speed fitting of an Inuzuka. He smashed an elbow into one clone, then smirked as two more made a move to attack. Out of nowhere, a white blur flew at the head of one of the clones, and a second clone was taken out. The white blur landed next to Kiba, and barked. It was Akamaru.

"What the heck? Using an animal to attack as well? There's got to be a violation doing that!" Naruto yelled, but Hayate shook his head.

"It's completely legal, the Inuzuka clan use dogs for their taijutsu and other techniques. There is no violation of rules in doing so." Hayate replied.

Naruto held back a growl as his final clones were destroyed. He grinned, "Looks like your taijutsu relies on speed and staying low. Sort of like my own style." Naruto began to gather chakra into his feet, "However...I don't need a partner for added strength..."

Kiba watched as Naruto seemed to rocket off the floor and literally_ glide_ at Kiba. The Inuzuka dodged a swift kick, and tried to follow up with a punch to Naruto's jaw. Naruto took blow, and spun around using the momentum of the attack to spin around and deliver a backhand to Kiba's face.

"Heh...you're good...but I'm only getting warmed up," Kiba pulled out a small pill, and gave it to Akamaru, "Allright, you ready Akamaru?"

Akamaru barked and began to turn a reddish brown hue in fur color. Akamaru's muscles grew a bit, and Naruto noticed Kiba ingested what Naruto recognized as a soldier pill. Both of them began to gather chakra, and Akamaru jumped onto Kiba's back. Kiba laughed, "This is it for you, kid. _**Juujin Bunshin**_!"

In a puff of smoke, Naruto saw Akamaru was now a copy of Kiba, "Great, two of them?" Naruto gathered more chakra into his feet, and crouched low, "Looks like I'll have to take it up a notch..."

The Inuzuka and his dog ran at Naruto, and Kiba quickly threw two small capsules which erupted into smoke. Naruto was soon caught in a haze of purple smoke, and he closed his eyes as the smoke irritated his eyes.

"You can't hide from us...not when we can smell you!" Naruto ducked as he felt a foot miss his head by a few inches. He turned right as his senses told him that someone was coming at him. He made a few handseals, and shouted, "_**Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu**_!"

The smoke flew in all directions, and a figure went flying into a wall. Kiba was surprised, but not unable to react. He pushed off the wall with his feet before hitting, and gave a nod to Akamaru, who was still imitating him. Both backed away from Naruto, and jumped at Naruto. They each began to spin wildly, each creating a miniature vortex, "Eat this! _**Gatsuuga**_!"

Naruto rolled to the side, and was nearly shredded by one of the two spinning attacks. He had little time to react, and saw another vortex fly at him. He concentrated his power into his hands, and a small wind began to swirl around him, "I'm not giving up yet either!" Naruto made a few hand seals, and then threw his right hand back as he gathered chakra. He felt it reach top speed as the wind around him began to howl. It was as if everything slowed down; watching his opponent flying at him, hearing his heartbeat, and the tension in the air. He grinned; this is why he loved being a shinobi, "_**Fuuton: Kiritori Kazehigyou no Jutsu**_!"

A blade of wind flew at the incoming vortex, and the two blidingly fast forces met each other with an explosion. Naruto saw his chance as dust flew into the air. He looked to see the form of Kiba land hard from the explosion...but Naruto felt something different from this Kiba. He smirked, and made a quick henge while the wind died down.

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Temari gripped the railing as she looked to see any indication of who was still standing. She suddenly noticed three figures standing in the smoke. She smirked, "Typical of him...he's always been a clever fighter with the basics."

Kankuro laughed, then spoke quietly to his team, "You've got to be kidding me. Naruto came up with a strategy like that?" he laughed a bit, "Man...glad he's with us..."

Gaara merely watched his friend as the dust was now gone. He closed his eyes and nodded. Naruto had come up with a strategy on the fly, just like always...and just like all of them, they usually worked.

Gaara noticed that the Inuzuka boy seemed a bit miffed that Naruto had pulled such a simple yet shrewd maneuver. Now, Naruto just had to find the moment to strike.

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Kakashi just returned from helping Sasuke with his seal. He was still a bit shaken from what happened a few minutes ago...but it worked out in the end. He made sure that the Hokage was informed as well of what happened....thank goodness that Jiraiya was in Konoha...

_**Flashback**_

_"Okay, just try to relax, Sasuke. It's not the most comfortable of feelings when supressing the seal, but it's worth the trouble in the long run." spoke the legendary Toad Sannin. After seeing the battle between Sasuke and Yoroi, he knew that the Curse Mark was starting to act up. He left to meet up with Kakashi, and performed the sealing process on the Uchiha._

_ Kakashi watched from a distance as a few symbols around the older ninja and his students, and a green light filled the area. Sasuke winced as pain wracked throughout his body while Jiraiya applied a seal to Sasuke's left shoulder near the neck where the Curse Mark was, but he beared with it. Soon, a small seal around the Curse Mark was visible, "There, it's finished. Good thing you were able to hold it back so well, Sasuke," he walked in front to face the boy, "Now, in order for that seal to work, you yourself have to have the will to refuse the power of the Curse Mark. It's only as strong as your will. Got it? It may be taxing on your body at first, but as long as you rely on your own power and deny the Curse Mark, it should be fine."_

_ Kakashi got up from his position on a pillar, "Very well. Sasuke, we should take you to a recovery room and let you rest." Sasuke nodded, and got up._

_ A chuckle could be heard throughout the dark chamber, and Kakashi and Jiraiya both looked around, "Well, I never expected to see_ you_ here, Jiraiya..."_

_ The Toad Sage turned in a random direction, and was now staring down with a person he hadn't spoken to in many years, "Orochimaru..."_

_ The Snake Sannin laughed, "Oh, you speak as though we're enemies, old friend."_

_ Kakashi stood in front of Sasuke, "What are you doing in Konoha?"_

_ "Aw, that would be giving away the surprise, wouldn't it, Kakashi? Hm...I guess I can tell you a little." he smirked as he layed eyes on the black haired boy, who glared, "I have come for Sasuke...but I don't think that will be necessary...he'll come to me in the end anyway..."_

_ "How could you, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya said, and he began to gather chakra into a palm, and it soon formed into a small, rotating sphere of power that was the size of a softball. Kakashi made a __**Raikiri**__ and looked at Orochimaru as he lifted his hitai-ite._

_ "My, my, such killer intent. I do believe I overstayed my welcome." Orochimaru slowly vanished, but his voice continued to echo, "Sasuke _will_ come to me in due time...I can give him the power he needs..." A sinister laughter was all that remained, and Jiraiya dispelled his __**Rasengan**__ as Kakashi discontinued his lightning jutsu and covered his Sharingan._

_ "We should inform the Hokage...he'll want to know of this..." Kakashi spoke, and Jiraiya nodded._

_ "I'll get on that. Take Sasuke to a recovery room and get two ANBU to watch him at all times until he's fully recovered." Jiraiya added, and without another word, vanished in a swirl of smoke._

_ "Right. Sasuke, don't worry, we've got this under control, okay? I'll make sure to let the ANBU know of what's going on. You should be able to leave within a day or so from the hospital." the cycloptic Jounin spoke, "I'll be sure to let Sakura...and Naruto...know how you are, okay?"_

_ Sasuke nodded tiredly, and walked with the Jounin out of the chambers over to the recovery room._

_**End Flashback**_

****Kakashi watched Naruto on the ground below, and a small smile appeared from under his mask,_ 'Looks like you've grown quite a bit, Naruto. I wouldn't expect anything less from you.'_

Kakashi covered up his Sharingan again after taking a brief look at Naruto. The boy seemed to be using the basic henge for this battle. If all went accordingly...then this was cakewalk for Naruto from here on out.

1313131313

"What the heck?!" Kiba growled as he saw not one, but _two_ copies of himself looking at him. He sniffed the air, and laughed, "That was clever...but your smell is still the same!" He quickly punched one of the Kiba replicas, and smirked as the faker was knocked to the ground. Kiba watched as the smoke from the henge being dispelled was made...but what he saw made him do a double take.

The Kiba he had struck turned out to be Akamaru as the smoke cleared. He turned to the other Kiba, and growled, "That's it! You're history!" he socked the other Kiba faker in the face, and watched as they went tumbling to the ground...only to also turn out to be Akamaru.

Kiba stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what happened. Then he realized it...this Naro guy had done a henge as he was hit...and turned into Akamaru...too bad he didn't realize it sooner.

"Now it's my turn!" Naruto yelled, and Kiba looked up to see Naruto running at him with incredible speed. Before he could dodge, Naruto elbowed Kiba in the stomach. Kiba let out a ragged breath, and Naruto used the same arm he elbowed with to smash Kiba in the face with the back of his fist. Naruto then used his other arm to palm thrust Kiba in the sternum, and for a finishing blow, reverse-heel kicked Kiba between the shoulder and neck, effecitively knocking him out.

Naruto stood straight, and let out a breath. He turned to Hayate, and the Chunin Exam proctor looked over Kiba before nodding, "The winner of this match is Naro Uzaki!"

A cheer was heard from Temari, and a few clapped, even the Hokage. Baki nodded to his student as Naruto headed up the steps, "That was a great performance, Naro. You did well with your techniques, and I have to admit that final Taijutsu move was fairly good for something you made up on the spot." Naruto grinned, and was about to reply when he was glomped by a pair of arms.

"That's the way to do it, Naro!" Temari said as she grinned at her shorter boyfriend, "You didn't even have to go all the way with your wind techniques that time!"

Naruto blushed as Kankuro snickered and Gaara gave a small smirk upon seeing Naruto being bear hugged by their older sister. Naruto didn't mind her affection though.

"Right, now, for our next match..." Hayate turned to the screen, "Hinata Hyuuga and Neji Hyuuga...please come down the floor so we may begin."

Neji unfolded his arms, and calmly walked down the stairs. Hinata frowned, but felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see it was her sensei, Kurenai Yuuhi, "Hinata...just believe in yourself, and you'll do fine."

"Ri-right, Kurenai-sensei." she said quietly, and walked down the steps. She kept her head down, but then realized that she was being watched by her sensei and the others. She took in a deep breath, and looked up.

"Well, it seems fate has decided that we are to battle, Hinata-sama." Neji spoke with a slight edge. Hinata looked down again, and tried to keep herself from cowering away.

Hayate looked to the two, and nodded. He coughed a bit, then spoke, "Begin match!"

Neji made no move, and simply kept same stance of looking at his younger cousin with contempt, "It's a pity that the heir to the Main Family is so weak. You were destined to face me though, and I will prove to you once and for all that the Main Family members are fools to have decided on you to be their sucessor." He activated his Byakugan, and spoke, with more iciness in his voice, "Fate is cruel to many; I for instance have been forced to be put in the Branch Family...and in turn am a mere slave in their eyes."

Hinata felt herself trembe, but something inside her felt pity for her older cousin. She knew the details behind the Caged Bird Seal...and how the Main Family seemed to abuse it's power over the Branch Family. Hinata didn't agree with it...and in a way, she didn't blame Neji for his anger. He was talented, and she wouldn't deny that, "Neji...I-I'm sure that you can change your life around...if you only...only t-try."

Neji growled, "You just don't get it, do you? We are tied by fate! There is no escaping it! The strong overpower the weak, and that is that! Today I will show you what I mean!"

Hinata realized there was no way to placate his anger, and she too activated her bloodline. As she crouched low, she saw Neji run at her. The two were soon locked in a combat of Juuken, and for brief seconds chakra was visible whenever the two exchanged and blocked each other's blows.

It went on like this for a few moments, and Hinata was soon finding herself fatigued; she simply couldn't fight against Neji in terms of endurance. Neji glared at her, his kekkai genkai staring at her as she did likewise, "You see? It's impossible to change yourself. You will forever be weaker than me, and that is that. You will always be that scared little girl who could never stand up for herself, and always relied on others to care for her!"

Neji delivered a tap to her shoulder, and Hinata felt her arm go numb. She forced her arm up, and went back into her stance, "Y-you're wrong...Neji...I believe it is you who is afraid. You're afraid to let go of what has happened...and continue...lie to yourself by saying that there is now way for a person to change who they are." she gave him a smile, "I will prove you wrong...Neji. Today...I-I will not run away. I will show you that I can change..."

Neji felt his temper rise, and he began another vicious barrage of attacks. Hinata tried her best to dodge and block, but it wasn't helping any. She felt Neji jab her in the stomach...in the left bicep, then the right...the right shoulder, then the lower left part of her abdomen. She fell to the ground, and coughed up blood.

"No..._you_ are wrong, Hinata-sama. People can _never_ change! Now, give up, while you still can..." Neji deactivated his Byakugan, seeing that there was no point in continuing when she was bound to forfeit the match.

1313131313

Naruto was ticked. Sure, he never knew Hinata that well, but he still knew she was a nice girl from what he had seen back in his academy days. This Neji...whoever he was, must have been of the Hyuuga clan too. However...he seemed to be a jerk, unlike Hinata. Then again, as far as Naruto remembered from when he was younger, almost all Hyuuga are major jerks.

He gripped the railing, and looked down at the girl. That jerk was telling her to give up? The nerve, "Hey, don't give in! Just believe in yourself!!! You can do it!"

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Temari whispered harshly as she looked at her blonde haired boyfriend with a nervous glare, "Are you trying to attract attention to yourself?"

Naruto, however, shook his head, "That girl is giving it her all, and that guy is telling her she can't win, simply because she's 'weaker'! I can't stand those kind of people!"

Temari nodded, and quieted down. She understood perfectly well; Naruto had been put down all his life. Of course he hated to see it happen. She looked over to Gaara and Kankuro. Kankuro shrugged with a frown, and Gaara merely narrowed his eyes as he watched the battle.

1313131313

Hinata heard someone shouting, and she slowly looked up to the stands to see a Sand-nin telling her not to give up. She activated her Byakugan...and gasped. She recognized him immediately as she looked behind that scarf with her kekkai genkai...and those chakra coils...how many times had she sneaked around and watched him from a distance?

"Na-Naruto-kun?" she quietly gasped. He was alive? She felt her strength return. She turned to Neji, a weary, yet determined look on her face, "I won't run...never...never again..."

Neji sighed. So much for using logic with her. He activated his Byakugan again, and sprinted at her. They were soon once again in a dance of Juuken, and Neji was stumped on how she seemed to be doing better. He still had the advantage, but...she seemed more determine this time.

Finally, Hinata reached her limit, and fatigue once again settled in. Neji saw his chance, and struck her in the sternum. Hinata's eyes went wide, and she coughed a bit. She forced herself to stand, and looked to see Neji staring at her with cold indifference, "Now..._give up_." he said.

"I cannot give up..." she coughed, "For...I never go back...on...m-my word. I said I would never run away...and I intend to obey my Nindo..."

Neji had enough. His anger was growing by the second. Injured or not, Hinata was finished in his book. He didn't bother activating his Byakugan as he ran, palm aiming for her heart...

The next instant, Neji found himself surrounded by five others. Kurenai had put her legs around his ankle so that if he had moved another inch he would have tripped. Gai was restraining Neji's left arm while Kakashi had Neji's right held from behind. Asuma was by Neji's right side with his hands at Neji's stomach to prevent him for going any further. Hayate was in front, index and middle finger pointing at Neji's head so that he would have tipped over embarrassingly if he had continued.

"Come on, Neji. I told you to forget about the Main Family issue while taking the exam." Gai said in a rare serious tone. Neji growled, but relaxed after seeing that he couldn't continue unless he wished to be beaten to the ground.

Medics were called in, and they immediately put the still concious Hinata on a stretcher. She coughed a bit, but was otherwise better than she may have ended up had Neji been more brutal during the fight. However, she was physically unable to continue, making Neji the winner.

Haytate coughed a bit, "Neji Hyuuga is the winner of the match. Now then, for the next match..." Hayate watched the computer screen go through the last couple of names, "Rock Lee versus Gaara."

Gaara nodded, and calmly walked down the steps. He looked at his opponent, and gave a nod, "You are the one that helped us in the Forest of Death, ealier, aren't you?"

Rock Lee nodded, "Yes, you are correct. It is a pleasure to be able to do battle with you, Gaara of the Desert."

Gaara nodded, and gave a small smirk, "Naro tells me your Taijutsu is your main skill, since you cannot mold chakra like other ninja. Is this true?"

Rock Lee nodded, "Yes, Taijutsu is my only skill, and I someday wish to prove that one can become a great shinobi even if they cannot use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu."

Gaara felt a small bit of admiration for Rock Lee's attitude, "I see...that's quite interesting...until a few months ago, I had very little skill in the area of Taijutsu...I hope that this match should prove to be quite an intense one. From what I heard...your Taijutsu is better than most in Konoha..."

Rock Lee grinned, "I thank you for your compliment, but I do believe we should prepare for the match now."

"Of course." Gaara spoke, and he went into a stance that coordinated with the style that Naruto had dubbed as his 'Sand Fist Style'.

Hayate took a few steps back, noticing that the two seemed anxious to start, "Very well, begin!"

Rock Lee ran at Gaara with speed that was even greater than Naruto's. Gaara hadn't expected this, and quickly raised his sand to avoid the punch that Lee would have delivered. Almost instantly, Lee vanished from sight, and Gaara felt the air around him move to one direction thanks to his floating sand particles. He turned, and quickly ducked to avoid a kick from Lee. As Lee tried to recover, Gaara made an effort to kick the Genin in the air. Lee blocked, but was caught off guard as a fist of sand came up out of nowhere, and sent Lee to the ground. Gaara jumped into the air, and was going to deliver a stomp onto the boy's stomach, but Lee back flipped to avoid the impact.

1313131313

"Dang...that Lee guy is fast..." Naruto spoke, seeing Gaara's sand having the hardest time trying to keep up with Konoha's Handsome Devil.

Temari laughed, turning to Naruto, "Yeah, but he can't touch Gaara...so what's the point?"

Kankuro suddenly noticed something, "Um, Temari...you better take a look at the match."

Temari turned to see a stream of sand trying to slam into Lee. The jumpsuit wearing boy hopped up onto the giant statue in the arena, and Temari then heard the voice of the equally green sensei of the boy, "Lee, take them off! I allow it!"

"Right!" Lee replied, and he pulled down his leg warmers to reveal weights. He untied them both, and lifted them.

"Oh, so he's wearing weights...what's that going-" Naruto paused as the weights landed on the ground with a gigantic crash, "....nevermind..."

Meanwhile, Kakashi was groaning inwardly as he looked to Gai, "Just how much have you taught that kid?"

"Haha, what's the matter, Kakashi? Afraid that I'm a better teacher?" Gai asked with a grin.

"No...it's what you taught him that I'm afraid of..." Kakashi said, shaking his head.

1313131313

Gaara watched with mild interest as Lee removed his weights, and before Gaara could react, he felt an impact with his opponent's fist. Gaara went flying, and only thanks to his sand did he land softly. He stood up, and brought forth sand to block a punch aimed for his stomach, "You've gotten faster..."

Lee laughed, "I have! It is all a part of my training! With those weights no longer on, I can move much easier and faster."

"Hm, well don't think that will give you the advantage. Speed isn't the only thing in a battle..." Gaara formed a few shuriken with his sand, "**_Suna Shuriken_**!" Gaara then threw the sand-made projectiles at Lee with great speed. Lee dodged all of them, but didn't have a chance to avoid the wall of sand that appeared. He was sent flying into a wall, and as the sand came crawling back to Gaara, the Suna nin spoke, "You see, with sand, anything is possible for me."

Lee got up, and went back into his stance, "It seems that you have a great talent with sand manipulation, Gaara. I too, have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Gaara made a move to have his sand pile up on the green-clad ninja, but suddenly found it harder to control. He thought back on the encounter with that Orochimaru, and nodded, _'Looks like that attack on my seal is causing an irregularity in my chakra control...'_

Gaara found himself caught up in a whirlwind all of the sudden as Lee began to run around the sand user. Gaara went into a stance, preparing to defend...

The next thing he knew, he was kicked into the air. He went wide eyed as he heard a voice from behind, "It looks like I'll have to end it like this, Gaara." Suddenly, Gaara found himself wrapped in bandages...what was going on?

1313131313

"Oh boy..." Naruto said, knowing what would happen next. He remembered seeing this move in the battle against those Sound-nin.

Lee yelled out "**_Omote Renge_**!" and the two combatants crashed to the floor. Lee jumped from the dust with an spinning aerial flip, and landed on his feet. He seemed a bit tuckered out from that maneuver, but remained standing.

"What the heck was that?" Kankuro asked, looking at the giant crater that was the result from this Lee's attack.

"Um...yeah...that Bushy Brow guy has awesome Taijutsu..." Naruto laughed nervously, and looked back at the match. He noticed that Gaara's motionless figure began to crumble apart, and Naruto laughed. Of course Gaara wouldn't be taken downt that easily...

1313131313

Lee watched as Gaara crumbled into a pile of sand, and Lee, despite failing to injure his opponent, grinned, "You truly are a great adversary, Gaara. I haven't fought against someone like you ever before."

Gaara erupted from the ground, and wrapped Lee in a layer of sand as he calmly walked over to the youthful ninja, "Indeed, I agree. You're speed and strength are something I have only experience to a certain degree. You, however, rely solely on your stamina and physical strength to have such speed and endurance. That is quite remarkable." Gaara then ran at Lee and with surprising power, sent Lee flying through the cocoon of sand and into a wall. Again, Lee got up.

Lee was immediately knocked down by a stream of sand, and Gaara once again called it back, "I can tell from the way you fight that you don't surrender...so I take it that I will have to defeat you in order win this match and not ask you to forfeit." Gaara spoke.

Lee nodded, "Yes, my Nindo won't allow me to back down from a challenge. I must prove myself to everyone that I am a great ninja in my own right..." Lee, for the third time, took his stance, "Now, come!"

Gaara wasted no time, and while running at Lee, sent two seperate streams of sand towards the green-wearing shinobi. Lee dodged one, then the other, and blocked Gaara's kick with a knee. He quickly sent Gaara back, and then ran at him again. As Gaara got up, he looked to see Lee coming. He decided to wait, and as Lee was about to deliver a powerful spinning kick to Gaara's right, the sand user caught it with his sand. He lifted Lee by the leg, and with a simple downward motion of his hand, sent Lee crashing to the ground. Lee let out a cry of pain, but rolled onto his feet and nodded, "Very well, it seems that I must take this to the next level if I plan on beating you."

Lee began to gather power, and then shouted, "Third Gate: Life Gate! Open!" Lee's skin became red from the increased blood flow in his body, and he felt himself flood with power, and his pupils went white while his hair began to flutter from the power surge.

1313131313

Gai grimaced as he watched his student perform the forbidden Taijutsu techinque _**Ura Renge**_, and Gai barely heard the man next to him speak as he was lost in thought, "Gai...what were you thinking? How many gates can he open?"

Gai frowned at Kakashi, "He currently is able to open five of the Eight Gates." To this, Kakashi groaned, "Lee is special, Kakashi! Don't question his ability! He's been through more than you can possibly imagine to reach the level he's at right now. I believe in him."

Kakashi said nothing, and continued to watch with a bit of apprehension. To know how to use the _**Ura Renge**_...that was quite something to take into account.

1313131313

Gaara noticed an immediate and significant increase in Lee's power. He braced himself, knowing that all that chakra swirling around the boy wasn't for show.

Lee ran at Gaara with a burst of energy, and Gaara had no time to react. His sand was moving very sluggishly, much to the Suna nin's dissapointment, and he was weighed down by the gourd on his back. He found himself kicked square in the jaw, and was sent flying upwards.

Lee wasted no time, and shouted again, "Fourth Gate: Wound Gate! Open!! " Lee jumped into the air, and was almost instantaneously face to face with the airborne Gaara. Gaara tried to block with sand, but was sent flying downwards by a fist...or a foot? He didn't know, and before he could even comprehend falling downwards, he was sent upwards, the left, then right...up, right, left, right, down, right, left, up, down, left...

Gaara felt his body screaming in pain he only registered once as being like when he fought Naruto...no, this was worse. He opened his eyes a bit, and gasped, "What?!"

Lee was face to face with Gaara yet again, "Now then! Time to finish this! _**Ura Renge**_!"

Gaara felt Lee slam his fist into Gaara's abdomen, and he was sent rocketing downward. He waited for impact, but was surprised to see that he was connected to one of Lee's bandages. He immediately realized he was in for more pain, "H-how?"

Lee felt his muslces begin to tear, but he had gone too far to stop, "Fifth Gate: Limit Gate! Open!!!" Lee yanked Gaara back up with the bandages, and with a might palm thrust to the chest, sent Gaara down to the ground.

The arena shook, and Gaara's Sand Armor cracked quite a bit. He looked to see Lee land, fatigued beyond capable movement of the body. Gaara tried to move his sand, but once again the control he normally had on it was hindered. He forced more chakra into his sand, and finally got it moving. Lee, while tired beyond belief, noticed the approaching sand slowly moving towards him. He tried to crawl away, but felt the encroaching sediment wrap around him.

For a brief moment, Gaara thought of breaking Lee's arm and leg...crushing them to be precise...but then he thought of what Naruto had once told him. Harming and killing others was a horrible way to prove your existence. He knew this now. He was here to prove that he was strong enough to serve his village and protect those close to him...not kill or severely harm his opponents. He hoisted Lee into the air by his arm and leg. Even with his muscles torn, Lee forced an arm out to reach for a kunai to cut at the tendrils of sand.

"Lee...why do you fight so hard?" Gaara asked, forcing himself to a kneeling position as he struggled to maintain control of his sand, which could let go of Lee any second, "Why do you continue when I have you at my mercy?"

Lee forced a grin on his face, "Because...I fight to prove that hard work...and determination...can overcome anything...and to prove that I am a worthy shinobi of the Hidden Leaf."

Gaara nodded, and wrapped a bit more sand around Lee's body, "You're an admirable opponent, Rock Lee. I think I understand what you mean...to some degree anyway. However, I must end this..." Gaara, with of his wrist downwards, sent the cocoon of sand surrounding Lee to the floor...just fast enough to knock him out.

Hayate walked over to Lee as Gaara brought his sand back into his gourd. Lee was unconscious, but otherwise would be fine, "The winner of this match is Gaara."

1313131313

As the medical shinobi came to take Lee to the recovery, Gai sighed, "Lee put up an amazing performance, considering who his opponent was. I've heard of that Gaara; he's quite poweful."

Kakashi sighed, "Gai...I swear, that could have ended much worse."

Gai laughed, "What? You act as though Lee could have had his left arm and legged crushed to pieces!" he grinned, "Lee's tough. He may have not passed the exam, but he proved that the power of youth is strong in him!" he smiled as his teeth gave off a shiny gleam. Kakashi shook his head. Gai was a real nutcase sometimes...

"Excuse me." spoke a calm voice, and the two looked to see none other than Gaara of the Desert behind them, "Are you the sensei of Rock Lee?"

Gai gave him a grin, "Yosh! That's correct! You put on quite a show in that fight of yours! Great work!" he gave Gaara his 'nice guy' pose. Gaara didn't know what to make of it, but continued.

"You've taught him well. I just wish for you to tell him that his fight with me has taught me a bit more about my purpose for getting stronger. Thank you." Gaara then walked off to join his group.

Kakashi and Gai both looked to the quiet boy, and the Sharingan wielder was the first to speak, "Hm...that was interesting. Gai, you heard about him, haven't you?"

Gai was serious for a moment, "Yes. He's completed a lot of A-rank missions...on his own. His reputation seems quite different from what he's displayed today."

Kakashi nodded while looking over to see that Naruto was running over to congratulate Gaara. Kakashi smiled, realizing what may have changed the ruthless Gaara of the Desert to be so calm.

1313131313

The final match of the Preliminary rounds was between Chouji and Dosu. Chouji had received some motivation to fight from Asuma; if he won, he'd be treated to a meal of all-you-can-eat barbeque.

Hayate coughed a bit, and nodded to both of the contenders, "Right. For the final match, Dosu Kinuta versus Chouji Akimichi..." he looked at the two, and took a few steps back, "Begin fight!"

Chouji immediately made a handseal and shouted, "_**Baika no Jutsu**_!"

Dosu jumped away in time to avoid getting rolled over by a high speed Chouji Akimichi. He was still injured from the attack on his arm from the Uchiha...but he would win this. He couldn't lose to this poor excuse of a fighter...

Chouji rolled at him again, but unlike before, Dosu was prepared. He jumped away and watched as Chouji smashed into a wall behind where Dosu was just moments ago. Chouji would have gotten out in due time, but Dosu wasn't going to allow it. He winced in pain, but forced his arm forward and with a simple flick of his finger on his Melody Arm, caused sound to vibrate throughout Chouji's body.

"Guuuuuh..." Chouji groaned, and went back to normal size as his head felt like it was spinning. Hayate walked over to Chouji, and confirmed him unable to battle.

Shikamaru sighed, "Well, at least he put up a fight."

Ino laughed, "Oh well, he's still our Chouji either way. Maybe we should have offered to pay for a weeks worth of barbeque trips though."

Asuma laughed, "Ino, not even all of our budgets put together could allow for that."

1313131313

Soon the nine finalists were standing before the Hokage and Hayate while Anko had a clipboard in her hands. The Hokage coughed to get their attention, "Now then, to explain the Chunin finals. In one months time, the nine of you will be competing in the village's Stadium to prove your skills as a shinobi. Thes matches are watched by people from all over the land, so keep that in mind as you represent your respective villages. You've all done a fine job today, and I look forward to seeing all of you in a month's time. In the meantime, you will all be given break from your duties to train, so put that time to good use. Are there any questions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand, "Yeah, actually, I have one. There's nine of us...but only two can fight per match. That means someone will be left out of the first match and someone else will be doing twice as much fighting as the others in the beginning."

The Hokage nodded, "That is correct. The layout for the exams will be as follows: Naro Uzaki versus Neji Hyuuga. Gaara no Sabaku versus Dosu Kinuta. Kankuro no Sabaku versus Shino Aburame. Shikamaru Nara versus Temari no Sabaku. Sasuke Uchiha will be facing off the victor of the match between Gaara and Dosu, and then it will progress with the winners of the matches facing each other. However, keep in mind that you will be judged as you fight, and may be given the rank of Chunin even if you lose based on your performance. On the other hand, none of you may advance, as unlikely as that sounds, it's always possible."

1313131313

Naruto was walking through the streets of Konoha, and took in a heavy breath. Baki-sensei had given them the night off as a reward for doing so well today...even if he was expecting it the whole time from them. Naruto had his arms behind his head while wearing his usual attire along with the scarf. He was tired, but hungry too.

He stopped in at Ichiraku, and ordered one meal to go. He brought it up to the roof of his old apartment, and with a quiet "Itadakimasu." began to eat. Oh how he missed ramen...

"Nice job today, Naruto."

Naruto didn't even turn around as he chewed on the noodles, "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei..." the gears slowly turned, and he wheeled around to face the masked shinobi, "Gah!!!"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask, and squatted down to face Naruto, "So...looks like you have some explaining to do..."

"Ehehehe...." Naruto set down his ramen, and began a long-winded story of how he ended up being in Konoha with a Sunagakure hitai-ite.

1313131313

Kakashi had been sitting with his missing student for over an hour and a half when they realized the sun was gone now. He got up, and looked to Naruto, "Well, if it helps you feel any better, the Hokage knows about you being here, and he's not angry..." Kakashi gave Naruto a rare smile, even if it was hidden, to his blonde haired student, "...we're just glad you're okay, Naruto. We would like this cleared up after the exams are over though."

Naruto got up and nodded, "Right. Um...who all knows about this besides the Old Man, Sakura, Sasuke, and you?"

Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought, "I believe Jiraiya-sama knows as well." Naruto raised an eyebrow, "He was taught by the Hokage, Naruto. He's one of the Sannin."

Naruto shrugged, "Okay. I think I'll be staying in Fire Country with my team during the month to train though."

Kakashi nodded, "Sounds fine to me. Listen, I won't be around that often starting tomorrow; I'm going to be helping Sasuke prepare for the exams. Do you have someone to help you out?"

Naruto thought about Baki, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, and nodded. Even if they were going to be opponents, they would still help train if needed, "Yeah, I'm good."

Kakashi stretched a bit, "Right then. Naruto, I'm proud of you. I really wish you hadn't left us...but you've proven how much you've grown up since you started out as a Genin. I expect an amazing match from you in a month's time." the Jounin then gave a final nod, and waved goodbye before disappearing if a puff of smoke. He yawned a bit, and headed back to the hotel where his team was staying at.

1313131313

As Naruto walked into his room, he saw Kankuro, with his hood removed, fixing Karasu while Gaara was watching with mild interest. The two looked up, and Kankuro spoke, "Temari said to meet her in her room. She wanted to talk to you about something."

Naruto nodded, and headed over to Temari's room. He knocked, and a "Come in was heard from inside." Naruto opened the door, and was greeted by a pair of arms wrapping around him.

"Where were you?" Temari asked with mock hurt in her voice, "I wanted to go for a walk around Konoha with you."

Naruto laughed as he hugged his girlfriend back, "Sorry, I got hungry and went to get some ramen. I met up with Kakashi-sensei as well, and I basically told him since I left Wave Country."

Temari got tense, "What did he say?"

"He said he was proud of me, and that he was glad to see me again. He wants to have a few things resolved after the exams are over, but he didn't go into detail on that."

Temari decided to avoid any further questioning for now, and rested her chin on Naruto's head as the two sat on the bed, "I'm bored..."

Naruto laughed, "Well, if you want, I can show you the best view in all of Konoha."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "_Oh really_?" she leaned closer, "Is it a _well hidden _part of the Hokage Monument, by any chance?""

Naruto sweat a bit, "Um....s-s-sort of. It's really pretty to look down at Konoha from where it is though. I never showed you my _favorite_ part on the Hokage Monument yet, and I think you would enjoy it."

Temari placed a kiss on Naruto's lips, a chaste peck, and got up, "Well, come on, I'm all ready to go. What are we waiting for?

Naruto got up with a grin on his face, and headed out with the older blond-haired girl by his side. He really hoped she'd like the view of Konoha from the Hokage Monument like he always did...

1313131313

A single Suna Genin ran through the halls of the Village Hall, breathing heavily as he did so. He had done what needed to be done, and was more than positive that he succeeded with the mission. He had been told to send a message wayward for Konoha that something was amiss in Suna. Oto spies had been captured, and information had been given...but Suna was smart enough to act like it didn't know. The Genin basically had taken a suicide mission; send a 'message' of Oto-spies in the Hidden Sand and their Kazekage being assasinated to the council, while actually sending the real message with a bird towards Konoha.

The sound of steel flying through the air was heard, and the Genin let out a last cry of life before falling dead with a kunai in his spine, right next to the skull. Two Oto nin appeared from the shadows, and one examined the body.

"The kid's got something in his hands." the Sound-nin spoke, and he opened it to reveal a scroll. He unraveled it, and let out a grunt of amusement, "It's a good thing we decided to follow this guy...looks like he found out about Lord Orochimaru's plan..."

The other shinobi nodded, "We should report this to command. We can't afford to let any other word of this get out..." the two heaved up the body, cleaned the blood stain, and with a hand seal, dissapeared to dispose of the body and report their findings.

The Suna Genin may have died...but the message he sent tied to a hawk that was now a good three hours from Suna by foot for a shinobi was carrying a message that would change the course of history for Suna and her ally the Hidden Leaf forever. Something was wrong in Suna...and the word had been sent...

**End of Chapter Thirteen: So begins the change in the direction for Sunagakure! Hahaha, I know, horrible of me to end here, eh? Well, once again, a major change in the story compared to the canon series was that Gaara didn't try to kill Lee. Otherwise, all the victories are essentially the same as the canon. Next chapter will revolve around the characters' training, and of course, NarutoxTemari. Yeah, not too much here, but come on, there was fighting going on! Anyway, hope you liked chapter thirteen, I sure did. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to let me know what you think! Your reviews are appreciated!**

**Jutsu notes:**

_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu- (Shadow Clone Technique)- **__(Original)__**-**__** Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **_is a technique that creates a copy of the user that has both form and substance by distributing chakra into the clone. The Shadow Clone can also use any jutsu and other tactics the original user has on knowledge. Once the clone is dispersed by an attack, damage, or by the user themselves, all information gained from the clone is passed onto the original ninja, as well as any other clones.

_**Juujin Bunshin- (Beast-Man Clone)-**__ (Original)__**- **_A Ninjutsu used by the Inzuka clan. First, the user and their canine partner may ingest a soldier pill to boost their strength and stamina. Then, the dog partner of the Inuzuka user will act in conjunction with the user and transform into the user, taking on their appearance. While like this, the canine can utilize many of the same techniques of the clan member.

_**Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu- (Wind Release: Wind Blast Technique)-**_ _(Mine)_ Is currently Naruto's most powerful wind technique. Simpy put, this attak is a wind based move where Naruto unleashes a high speed wind from his palms to blast away opponents. While it is powerful, Naruto still has a long way to go with perfecting the technique and maintaining control of it. He created this technique during his training in Suna with the Sand siblings and Baki.

_**Gatsuuga- (Dual Piercing Fang)- **__(Original)__**- **_After using the _**Juujin Bunshin**_, both the original user and their counterpart transformed as them begin to spin rapidly, and this rapid rotation causes damage to the opponent when they are impacted by the users' claws. The users can use this attack to strike from multiple angles in battle.

_**Fuuton: Kiritori Kazehigyou no Jutsu- (Wind Release: Severing Wind Strike Technique)-**__ (Mine)__**-**_ This wind based ninjutsu was the very first _Fuuton_ technique learned by Naruto when he first arrived to Suna. The user makes the proper hand seals, concentrates chakra around his hands, and adds his wind element to increase speed. Unlike the _**Kazebakufuu no Jutsu**_, this technique requires more focus to initiate. After the wind has gained enough speed around the user's hands, it is released in a razor sharp wind-blade form. The attack itself has a small range, but it's speed and sharpness make it ideal for attacking opponents from close to mid-range.

_**Raikiri- (Lightning Edge)-**__ (Original)__**- **_Also called _Lightning Blade_. By focusing chakra into the user's hand, a strong electric current is created in around the hand holding the chakra, and essentially altering the nature of the user's chakra. They can also alter the strength and range of the attack. Kakashi Hatake invented this technique. One should note that the _**Chidori**_ is essentially the same technique as _**Raikiri**_. The user then uses amazing speed to deliver a powerful thrust with their electrified arm to strike through any target. This speed has made it an ideal assasination move. However, such speed can easily be countered when the user is moving so fast, so the Sharingan is used in conjunction to predict the targets moves and strike home. The name _**Chidori **_derives from the words 'One Thousand Birds' since the speed and power of the chakra causes it to sound like the chirping of one thousand birds. _**Raikiri **_derives from after it was said that Kakashi used the technique to cut a lightning bolt in two. This technique requires a large amount of chakra, and can therefore be used only so many times a day.

_**Rasengan**_ _**-(Spiral Sphere)- **__(Original)__**-**_ This technique was originally developed over a three year period by the Yondaime Hokage. The technique requires pure shape manipulation of chakra and needed no handseals. The user forms their chakra into a spinning ball of chakra, which creates a powerful force in the size that can fit into their palm. It requires several steps in order to learn, and is said to be incomplete since the Yondaime Hokage never got a chance to add nature manipulation to it. Kakashi Hatake is also said to know how to use this technique, aside from Jiraiya.

_**Suna Shuriken- (Sand Shuriken)-**__ (Original)__**-**_ Gaara's control of sand is used to create disk like projectiles of sand that can be used in battle. These disc-like shuriken are deadly in force, and are capable of dealing much damage to the opponent.

_**Omote Renge- (Front Lotus)-**_ (Original) A taijutsu techique that is in the forbidden category, due to the fact that it causes bodily strain to the user when it's used in combat. Lee opens up the Initial Gate (First Gate of the Eight Celestial Gates) and releases the restraints in the brain to push his body's limits further, such as increasing his speed and strength when Lee uses it. In Lee's case, he loosens up the bandages on his arms, and begins to dash around the enemy, and suddenly appears in front of them to deliver an upward kick, sending them into the air. Lee then jumps up into the air, chest facing the opponent's back, and wraps his arms and bandages around the opponent to prevent escape. As the two fall downward headfirst, Lee spins the two around at a high speed, and crashes them into the ground. At the last second, Lee lets go of the enemy and releases his bandages to prevent bodily damage from the fall. However, the attack still takes a toll on Lee since he experiences pain from opening the First Gate.

_**Ura Renge- (Reverse Lotus)- **__(Original)__**-**_ The user (Lee in this case), opens the first three Gates that regulate the flow of chakra in the body. Then, the user starts off similar to the Front Lotus by kicking the opponent into the air from the front. After that, the user begins a massive, high speed volley of attacks. As the user nears the end of the attack, they will send their opponent downward. However, the user will then get close after letting the opponent get some distance, and wrap their bandages around them. As the opponent falls, the user will pull up on the oppponent with the bandages, and then with a mighty arm thrust to the chest send the opponent to the ground for massive damage. In the case of Lee, he opened the fourth and fifth gate as well for increased speed and strength in his attack. However, his muscles snapped a bit as a result of using the Fifth Gate.

_**Baika no Jutsu- (Multi-Size Technique)- **(Original)_ One of the Akimichi clan's signature techniques. This jutsu allows the user to alter the size of their body to various sizes. However, this technique uses up body calories, and therefore clan members are often seen eating high calorie food. In Chouji's case, these foods are potato chips usually. This technique is used frequently by Chouji throughout the series, often in conjunction with other clan techniques.


	14. Lesson from the Toad Hermit

**Disclaimer: For those of you who are up to date with the manga, I'd like to say this first: HOLY CRAP I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING! Heheh, anyway, the recent chapters are only further proof that I don't own Naruto.**

**Chap. 14: Lessons from the Toad Hermit**

"Are you serious? What do you _mean_ you can't help me train?!" Naruto said at breakfast the following morning of the Preliminaries.

Baki sighed, "Naruto, I've been given specific orders to help Temari improve her wind techniques by the Kazekage himself."

Naruto gave his sensei a flat look, "Like she needs the help. I'm the one who's in need of wind jutsu training."

Gaara, who had made a decent omelet for himself, looked over to his blonde haired companion, "I can help you train."

Naruto stopped eating his toast, and was silent, "Wait...you can use wind techniques?"

Gaara shook his head, "Not to the same extent as you and Nee-chan. I can help you train in other areas though. Jutsu isn't the only thing required of a ninja in battle." Gaara gave a small smile, "Besides...you're the best at helping me with my taijutsu work."

Naruto seemed to understand. The two had practiced with each other before. Usually it ended with Naruto having sand in places he preferred not talking about and Gaara having a few black and blue marks from Naruto's overwhelming strength and Shadow Clone attacks...even if Gaara was using his sand armor. At least it would kill a few hours...though he really hoped it wouldn't end up destroying a few buildings like last time. Oh, how angry the shop owners had been at the two back in Suna after Naruto decided to test his wind jutsu outside of the Sabaku estate...

"I guess we could. I think I have a good place in mind as well." Naruto replied with a grin.

1414141414

Twenty minutes later found Naruto and Gaara outside of the hot spring area. Naruto claimed it would help them work on combat over water, and Gaara had no objections.

The two were practicing basic taijutsu on the steamy waters when the two heard something. It sounded like...giggling? The only reason they noticed was because the area was otherwise relatively quiet.

"You hear that, too?" Naruto asked, and Gaara nodded. The two jumped out of the water, and quietly walked over to the source of the giggling.

Naruto and Gaara soon found themselves facing the back of a man with a mane of white hair. He was squatting down, looking through a peephole that most likely showed the inside of the women's bathhouse. Gaara frowned, but Naruto had a completely different reaction.

_'That's the man I met outside of Fire Country's borders...the one who gave me those scrolls...'_ Naruto thought as he tensed up. Jiraiya turned, and frowned at the two Jinchuuriki boys. Naruto decided to play this cautiously; act like you never seen the man, and play dumb if needed.

"What do you brats want? I'm busy." he said in an annoyed tone. In truth, Jiraiya was happy to see the boy that he had planned on finding before him.

Gaara decided to speak, "In Suna, peeping in on others within private quarters is a great offense."

Jiraiya shrugged, "Heh, well Konoha's different."

"Not in the aspect of being punished for peeping in on women within a bathhouse." Gaara replied.

Jiraiya chuckled while standing up to face the boys,"Oh? What are you going to do about it?" Gaara looked to Naruto, and the two nodded before going into stances. Jiraiya smirked, and put away a notebook and pen, "Do you even know who I am?"

Naruto shook his head, "Does it matter? A pervert is a pervert, and you qualify for that title."

A moment later, the two found themselves staring at the walls of the bathhouse, the Sannin gone from sight.

"Man, you two are slow. I could have knocked you both out and neither of you would have known what happened." Jiraiya spoke from behind. The two boys spun around, and jumped back.

"Naro...this guy is definitely a shinobi." Gaara spoke, uncorking his gourd. Naruto nodded, and began to make the seals for his famous Shadow Clone technique.

Just as they were about to attack, Jiraiya bit his thumb and went through a few seals before yelling, "_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_!!" A giant plume of smoke filled the area, and it cleared to show Jiraiya standing on a large toad that was at least eleven feet in height.

"You two really don't know who I am." Jiraiya laughed, and went into the oddest stance the two boys had ever seen, "I am the Hermit of Mount Myouboko! The most handsome man to have ever graced these lands! Women swoon over my charm, men tremble in my greatness! I am Jiraiya, one of the three Sannin!"

Gaara nodded, "So...you are Jiraiya the Toad Sage." Gaara looked to Naruto, "I hate to say this, but if we actually fought him, we'd be beaten easily." He put his cork back on his gourd, and Naruto reluctantly got out of his stance.

Jiraiya nodded, "Hm...you two are from Hidden Sand, eh? I remember watching the two of you fight at the Preliminaries. Not bad." He hopped off his toad, and it disappeared in an explosion of smoke.

Naruto looked at him as Jiraiya looked over the two, "Hmmm...I guess I could train you two. I've got nothing better to do now that I've finished researching."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "We never asked for any training from you."

"Hahaaha! Boy, I don't train just anyone! You have to earn the right to be taught by me!" Jiraiya replied, and looked at the blonde, "Did you know that I am the one responsible for teaching the Yondaime Hokage?"

Naruto couldn't hold back the surprise in his eyes. His cloth around his face even appeared to show a mouth gaping open in amazement, "No way!"

Jiraiya nodded, "Yes, I am. In fact, he was one of the few students I ever taught."

Gaara spoke calmly, "What could you possibly teach us that we are capable of learning at our current level?"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, "You'll have to find out."

Naruto, while he was curious, didn't want to risk being found out...wait...didn't Kakashi say there was a fourth person who knew of Naruto's identity being hidden? He looked at the Sannin, "What if we don't want your training?"

Jiraiya smirked. Naruto's voice gave away suspicion. Might as well tell them, "If you don't let me train you, then I guess I'll just have to let all the ANBU know that you're actually Naruto Uzumaki, not Naro Uzaki, and that you've been missing for a couple of months from Konoha now."

Gaara had his gourd uncorked again, and sand had shot at Jiraiya. However, Gaara once again found it hard to keep his sand moving, and eventually it fell to the ground, motionless.

Jiraiya already knew of Gaara's 'situation'. Jiraiya never imagined he'd be talking to two Jinchuuriki in his lifetime, yet here he was, "Hmmm...Gaara no Sabaku. I know about you're situation as well with being the container of the Shukaku. You and Naruto share a common trait it seems. However, it seems that your sand is becoming difficult for you to move."

Gaara stopped his attack, "How can you tell?"

Jiraiya smiled, "I can feel the irregularity in your chakra flow when you use the sand in your gourd." Jiraiya walked up to the sand user, and gave him a stern look, "Pull your shirt up."

Naruto was first to speak this time, "Hey! What do you think you're doing asking Gaara to lift up his shirt? Isn't being a pervert enough?!"

Jiraiya shot Naruto a look of disbelief, "What are you-?" Jiraiya suddenly was aware of what the blond meant, "No!!! I didn't mean it like that!"

Gaara thought back to that Orochimaru attacking him in the abdomen with some kind of weird technique that seemed to be the cause of the chakra irregularity. He lifted up his shirt and spoke, "Now what?"

Jiraiya examined the seal on his stomach. Surprisingly, it was very similar to the one that Minato had used, except for a few distinct differences in the center of the fuuinjutsu mark. There were also a few key differences in the outside sealing marks. Those differences were enough though that the Shinigami was not involved in the sealing. Also, it gave Gaara portions of the Shukaku's powers, but unlike Minato's sealing method, where the Kyuubi was separated from Naruto in almost all aspects aside from the steady leak of chakra into the blond's own chakra, Gaara and Shukaku were in a sense, attached to each other, intertwined together to the point where the demon affected Gaara even outside of battle. It also was what allowed the Shukaku to protect Gaara with its sand.

On the outside of Gaara's seal were three distinct sealing marks that were _not_ supposed to be there. Orochimaru's doing, no doubt. He heard of the Snake Sannin being around the Forest of Death. That wasn't good, and was nothing short of an ill omen for the Hidden Leaf.

"Hm...Orochimaru really did a decent job on this one. Considering the complexity of your seal, Gaara, he really messed the chakra flow up quite a bit..." Jiraiya looked to the red head, "...however, I can probably fix it."

Gaara nodded, and watched as Jiraiya looked at the sealing job done by Orochimaru carefully.

"Hey, Ero-Sennin, you can help Gaara, right?" Naruto asked with some concern in his voice.

Jiraiya turned to face the blond, "_What_ did you call me?"

"Well..you are a hermit of sorts, and you _are _pervert..."

Jiraiya shook his head, and returned to studying Gaara's seal, "Okay, I think I know what to do. I'll have to deactivate the seals in the opposite order in which they were delivered, and there's only a certain spot I can contact in order for it to work." the Toad Sage looked to the sand user, "Count to five, and then brace yourself."

Gaara nodded, "One...two...thre-"

"Yaahh!!!" Jiraiya quickly delivered three precise blows to Gaara's abdominal area, sending the sand user flying back.

"What the hell?! He didn't even get to four!!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the white haired man.

"If I had hit hit after five seconds, then he would have tensed up, and that would have caused problems in deactivating the seal done to his bijuu seal." Jiraiya answered innocently.

Gaara got up, and groaned a bit, "Was it necessary to hit me so hard? My sand armor never even got a chance to react..."

Jiraiya nodded, "Yes it was. Try using your sand now."

Gaara uncorked his gourd for a third time, and moved a strain of sand around. He let it float around, and molded it to different shapes before nodding, "It seems that I've recovered my powers over sand completely. Thank you."

Jiraiya nodded, "Don't mention it. Now, seeing as you two are both capable of walking on water, I think I can start with training the two of you."

"Why would you train us though? We're not from Konoha..." Gaara inquired, not sure what logic the older man was using to determine training the two okay.

Jiraiya shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I'm bored, and you two have potential."

1414141414

"Again, Gaara. I want that boulder completely gone this time."

Gaara nodded, "_**Doton: Yomi Numa**_!"

Naruto and Jiraiya watched as a bubbling pool of muddy water appeared from the ground. A boulder standing on the ground above it began to sink, and Gaara focused more chakra in his technique. Within a minute's time, the boulder was completely gone. Gaara dispelled the technique, and the mud disappeared, taking the boulder with it.

It was quite a surprise to Naruto to find that Gaara had an affinity to Earth style, considering he only remembered Gaara ever using wind style outside of his sand powers in battle. Jiraiya explained that the Shukakau was the reason behind the Wind style techniques, but Gaara himself had an affinity to Earth moves.

Jiraiya had decided that Gaara was worthy of learning Jiraiya's A-rank _**Yomi Numa**_ technique. Gaara had plenty of chakra for it, and his control was almost flawless in regards to using Earth moves. Naruto asked if he'd be able to learn anything in the A-rank category. Jiraiya wouldn't tell him, but Naruto would receive different training...later...

"For now, Naruto, I'm going to teach you how to summon-"

"I already _can _summon! Watch!" Naruto went through a series of seals, "Tora, Tatsu, Hebi, Tori, Tatsu, Hebi, Tori! _**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_!!"

I puff of smoke revealed Naruto crouching with a weasel on his shoulders, holding a sickle in its paws. Jiraiya smirked, "Well, I'll be. You've signed the weasel contract? Heh, I haven't heard of anyone using that contract in years. I imagine that Temari girl taught you this?"

Naruto nodded, "Kamatari let me summon his contract while I was in Suna. He uses wind power like I do!"

Kamatari eyed over Jiraiya with his one visible eye, "Hey, Naruto, who's the old guy?"

"That's Jiraiya. He wants to teach me how to summon, so I wanted to show him my skills in summoning. I don't need to learn another, do I?" Naruto replied with a grin.

Kamatari's eye widened a bit, "_You're_ Jiraiya? Well, I'll be. You're the one who discovered those old toad's and there contract, huh? Geesh, everyone's heard of you in the summoning world."

Jiraiya had the decency to look embarrassed, "Well, it's an honor to know that I'm well known by other summons. Anyway, I was hoping you'd allow me to teach Naruto how to summon the toads if it's not against your contract."

Kamatari rubbed a paw under his chin, "I suppose it's okay. Gamabunta and I have no quarrels with each other. I really have no alliance with his clan, but I don't see how this could cause problems..." Kamatari nodded, "It's fine by me."

Jiraiya nodded, "Good, then it's settled." Biting his thumb again, Jiraiya made the proper seals and summoned a toad about the size of a large horse, "Okay, Naruto, just sign the contract here and you'll be able to summon toads."

The toad that had been summoned unfurled its tongue. A large scroll could be seen at the end of the toads tongue, and Naruto looked at it, "This the scroll? It's huge!"

"Well, the toad clan is one of the more powerful summon clans known, so it would make sense that they have a larger scroll." Kamatari replied, deciding to stay around.

After putting his fingerprints in blood and giving his signature on the scroll, the toad vanished, "Okay, now, Naruto. Summon a toad like I showed you. Remember, the larger the amount of chakra, the larger the toad you'll summon. Try and go for one the size of a small house."

Naruto nodded, "Okay then! _**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_!!"

A puff of smoke covered the area where Naruto had slammed his hand down, and everyone watched as it cleared. After a few seconds, a voice spoke, "Yo!"

Naruto's right eye twitched, "Who the heck are you?"

Jiraiya gave Naruto a blank expression, "...Naruto...I said a house-sized toad, not Gamakichi..."

"Hey, Jiraiya. Long time, no see!" waved Gamakichi with a webbed hand, "Who's the brat?"

"Brat?!" Naruto growled, rolling up his sleeves while clenching his hands into fists, "Why I-"

"This is Naruto Uzumaki, the newest summoner of the toad contract." Jiraiya explained, and Gamakichi looked at the blond.

"Hm...do you have a treat for me?" Gamakichi asked, giving Naruto a hopeful smile.

"...a treat? No."

Gamakichi deflated, "Hmmph, figures. Next time you summon me, make sure you have something for me to snack on!" With that, Gamakichi disappeared in a plume of smoke.

Gaara, who had been watching from a few feet back, spoke, "Naruto...that toad was no bigger than a small dog..."

Naruto growled, "Hey, I don't see _you_ summoning animals!"

Gaara shrugged, "I have no need for a summoning contract. However, I believe that while you can summon Kamatari easily, it's because he appears based on the seals and blood you draw, not the chakra output."

Kamatari nodded, "He has a point, Naruto. You've got to measure the amount of chakra you let out when summoning contracts with more that involve more than just one single individual."

Jiraiya sighed, "Okay, let's try this again, Naruto. This time, I want you to put in as much chakra as possible..."

1414141414

Three hours had passed since Naruto had signed the contract with the toads. Gaara had taken his leave, stating that he would be at the hotel getting dinner for himself. Naruto grumbled as he sat on the ground near a new location after the hot springs had complained to the group about too much yelling and croaking from toads. The current toad in front of him was no bigger than a small pony...still not a house sized toad.

"Man, what is wrong with you?" Jiraiya groaned as the toad disappeared, "Is your chakra control that bad?"

Naruto gave a withered glare to the Sannin, "Hmmph, I don't see _you _giving me any help."

Jiraiya truthfully had been thinking over the boy's situation the whole while. Naruto had an extraordinary amount of chakra as it was, but he had trouble regulating it when it came summoning. That and he just couldn't put out the right amount. There was one thing Naruto didn't try yet...but Jiraiya wasn't sure if it'd be effective.

"Naruto, have you ever used the other chakra in your system?"

Naruto blinked at the older man, "_Other_ chakra..." he thought for a moment, "Oh, you mean that stupid fox's chakra? Yeah, twice I think..."

Jiraiya blinked, "Really? So then you are aware of how powerful it is..."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, but it leaves me really weak if I use it for too long...plus the fox only seems to really give it to me when I'm in a big fight, or really angry.,,at least I think that's when it gives its chakra to me."

Jiraiya nodded, and suddenly became serious, "Well then, I think it's time we test that theory out. This is your final shot, Naruto...you're going to summon a large toad, or die..."

"Huh? What do you-?" Naruto had no time to react as he was somehow shot backwards by a jab at the forehead by the Sannin's index finger. For some reason, Naruto was launched further then expected, probably from chakra he thought. He went through a few bushes, and then...looked down to see a huge ravine under him, "Gah!!!!!"

He fell through the dark ravine, panic rising up in him, "Not good, not good! Come on, fox, give me some chakra!"

Naruto felt nothing for a few moments, and then...he felt what could only be described as sheer power flow throughout his body from the seal on his belly. He bit his thumb, and yelled at the top of his lungs, "_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_!!!"

Meanwhile, Jiraiya watched as a huge plume of smoke shot out from the large ravine. He felt a sudden spike in chakra, and then, **"Jiraiya! Why did you summon me here?!"**

Jiraiya's eyes widened ever so slightly, "The kid summoned _him_? I said a small house, not a mansion..." The Sannin took his leave, running off to avoid a potential conflict with the chief of the toad clan.

Naruto stared in wide eyed amazement at the colossal toad that was gripping the edges of either side of the ravine, "Whoa, I summoned this?!" Naruto jumped up and down in triumph, but his celebration was short lived as he felt this feet wobble from the toad's movement.

**"What the- hey?! Who are you? What's a snot-nose punk like your self doing on top of **_**my**_** head?!"** bellowed the giant toad. Naruto ran down to face the toad, now standing on it's nose.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I summoned you!" the blond said with a grin, "So that means you have to listen to what I say!"

**"What?!! You little brat, do you know who I am?! I am Gamabunta, the Chief Toad of the toad summons! You dare tell me what to do?! I ought to squash you right now!"**

Naruto paled, suddenly realizing that maybe he was wrong about what he had said just before, "Uh...oh! I'm sorry! Heheh, um, listen, I summoned you after Ero-sennin pushed me off this ravine and-"

**"Shut up!!! I'm not in the mood for your excuses! Only Jiraiya could possibly have summoned me. Now where is he?!"** spoke the Chief Toad.

"Oh, Ero-sennin? He's back up there. Seriously though, I summoned you!" Naruto spoke, jumping up and down, causing the giant toads nose to be irritated.

Having had enough, Gamabunta jumped out of the ravine while Naruto was pinned to the skin of the toad from the sheer force of the jump. After landing, Gamabunta lit his pipe and stared at the weary form of Naruto, **"Hey, brat, what's your name again?"**

Naruto got up and spoke, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I summoned you!"

**"Hmmm, is that so? Naruto Uzumaki..."** Gamabunta nodded, as though remembering, ** "My son, Gamakichi, told me about you...he said you're a stupid blond kid who didn't give him a treat..."** the Chief Toad spoke with a thoughtful look, **"So...you were able to summon me...very well, from now on you can be one of my minions. However, you can't be a real summoner of me until you drink some sake with me. Only then will I consider you a real partner."**

Naruto nodded, glad to see that things were starting to look better for him, "Sure thing, you got it Boss Toad!"

Naruto then slid down the giant toad's back, and in a massive explosion of smoke, Gamabunta vanished. Naruto grinned a bit, but then found himself tired suddenly.

"Used...too much...chakra...heh..." Naruto fell over with a dull thud, face planted in the dirt. Jiraiya took the oppurtunity to come out from his spot behind a tree, and walked over to to the boy.

_'This kid is something else...Minato...you should see how much your boy has grown. You'd be proud.'_ With a small smile, Jiraiya heaved the unconscious Naruto onto his shoulders, and carried him back to the hotel where he was staying at. Naruto would be fine after some rest. It was a very minor case of chakra depletion; nothing that couldn't be taken care of after some rest.

1414141414

It was evening when Naruto woke up. He yawned and looked around to find that he was in the room that he, Kankuro, and Gaara stayed in. He looked for his cloth mask, and tied it around his face. After doing so, he stretched a bit, and felt his back crack a little.

"Hm...wonder where everyone is..." Naruto thought, and walked out into the hall. He knocked on Temari's room, and found that no one was there after a moment of waiting. He walked down to Baki's room, and was about to knock when he heard voices speaking in hushed tones.

"...we've been tricked this whole time, Hokage-sama...it seems that way at least." spoke what sounded like Baki. Naruto pressed his ear against the door, and listened intently.

There was a sigh from the Third, "Well, it's good to see that Suna was able to catch this before it actually happened...we'll need to prepare for this. If Otogakure plans on attacking, then we can be sure it will be when it's most inconvenient for us."

Another voice spoke, "Orochimaru's been acting as Kazekage for more than two months now, so you can be sure he has agents in Suna giving him constant feedback. He may already be aware that Suna is aware of your Kazekage's death..." Jiraiya was there too, apparently.

Naruto pulled back from the door slowly, and stood there. The Kazekage was dead? For almost three months? How? That Orochimaru guy was behind this?

The door opened before he could react, and standing there was an ANBU, "Hokage-sama, it's one of the Suna Genin."

"Ah, send him in, please." replied Sarutobi.

Naruto walked in and faced the group of seven people, including four ANBU in full uniform.

"How much did you hear?" spoke Baki, and he looked what appeared to be a mixture of annoyance and mild concern.

"I heard that Suna's been fooled by Orochimaru for almost three months now, and that the Kazekage is dead...that's about it though." Naruto replied, looking at the others. He gave Sarutobi a curious look, "What are we preparing for?"

Sarutobi looked at the ANBU and spoke, "You can leave us for now. Just wait outside the hall."

"Hokage-sama?" spoke the captain of the ANBU team.

Sarutobi waved a hand, "I'll be fine, just wait outside please." The four ANBU did as requested, and walked out to the hall and shut the door behind them, "So...Naruto...what were you asking?"

Naruto had to remind himself that the Third was aware of Naruto's situation, "Well, what were you all saying about preparing for something?"

Baki nodded, "Konoha's going to prepare to stop an invasion from Otogakure. Suna's forces are currently acting as though they are unaware of Orochimaru's plans...it's taken some careful planning, but we have a plan worked out to counter the invasion."

Naruto looked around the three men and spoke again, "Do...Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara know?"

Baki nodded, "Yes...they were just informed about an hour ago...we got a letter from Suna by hawk, and it looks like the letter was written hastily. We're positive that so far, the secret of Suna being aware of the Kazekage's death is still unknown by Oto."

Naruto nodded, "Oh...well, when is the invasion supposed to happen?"

"On the day of the Chunin Exam finals." spoke the Third, "From what we know, the enemy will be attacking during the middle of the exams...so we've decided to go along with it to have the enemy think this invasion should succeed."

Jiraiya shook his head, "You can't expect Orochimaru to not be prepared for a possible counter though. He's not an idiot."

Sarutobi nodded, "Right...well, we at least know of this invasion, and we have a month to prepare." Sarutobi pulled down his hat and smiled to Naruto, "It's good to see you again, Naruto. I'm glad to see you have improved since you started as a Genin."

Jiraiya followed the Third out, and turned to Naruto, "Kid, keep working on your chakra control...I'll be busy for some time, so I might not be around. We'll see each other again I'm sure though."

Naruto nodded, and then looked to Baki as the door closed, "So, Baki-sensei...where are-"

"On the roof...well, Temari is at least. Gaara decided to go for a walk, and I have no clue where Kankuro is. He said something about food or something..."

Naruto thanked the veiled ninja and ran up to the roof. Baki would be meeting with a man named Kabuto in two days to pretend to discuss the plans of the invasion. He'd be sure to relay any information he got on the invasion to Konoha's officials afterwards.

1414141414

Temari looked up at the starry sky over Konoha. She had to admit...this place was quite beautiful. She wasn't a fan of the humidity, but the amount of plant life was a breath of fresh air for her. She would be enjoying it more if it wasn't for the news she received just an hour or so ago...

She supposed that she should feel sad, but she wasn't. Her father and her had never been close, well, he hadn't been close to any of his children for as long as she could remember. He was always caught up in his duties, and trying to find new ways to bring more power to Sunagakure and such. She hardly remembered anything of her mother other than being told stories by her when she went to bed at night. She loved her mother, and she recalled that her mother loved her very much as well. That was all she could remember as far as she could tell. Other than that, she never really knew what it felt to be loved by a parent.

Maybe that's why she was so happy around Naruto. He, like her, was unfamiliar with the feeling of being hugged and being told that you mean the world to someone. It was for that reason that the two didn't mind just sitting together in complete silence, just enjoying the feel of being appreciated and loved by someone you care about as well.

"You going to be okay, Temari-chan?" spoke the gentle voice of Naruto, who was currently holding Temari. She was lying on his lap as he ran a hand through her hair.

"I think so...Kankuro probably took this the hardest since he just up and left after the meeting with the Hokage and Baki-sensei." Temari replied, "I'll be fine since I have you here..."

"Heh, it's the least I can do for you, Temari. You're my most precious person, you know." Naruto replied with a small grin.

She loved that title; precious person...it was almost childish to her, but the way he said it made it have a deeper meaning. It meant that she was a part of his life, and he cared deeply for her. She liked that thought...being important to someone in ways other than as a kunoichi of a hidden village.

"Thanks,Naruto..." she spoke, and smiled up at him, "So...what do we do about all this?"

"I don't know...Baki-sensei will probably tell us in a few days...either way, I'll do whatever it takes to stop the Sound..." Naruto spoke with determination.

Temari yawned, and looked at her boyfriend, "I know you will...just don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Naruto nodded, and lay down on the roof as well, both of them content in being within the other's embrace.

Minutes went by like hours and eventually Temari sat up, "I better get to bed...Baki-sensei's going to be putting me through more training tomorrow morning."

Naruto frowned, "I still don't see why he won't train me too."

Temari laughed, "Naruto, I heard you got training from Jiraiya of the Sannin. You know how lucky you are? Gaara said that the Earth style techniques Jiraiya-sama gave to him are of B-rank and higher...and you learned how to summon toads, which if I'm correct is quite a privilege." she ruffled his hair as he groaned, "Stop complaining..."

Naruto got up with Temari, and spoke, "I guess...I just wish that the guy wasn't such a pervert...just glad I didn't have to use my _**Oiroke no Jutsu**_..."

"What?" Temari asked, not hearing the last part.

"Heheh, nothing, Temari-chan." Naruto replied with a grin. Temari gave him a frown, but didn't proceed to interrogate the boy.

The two shared a kiss and walked down to their respective rooms in the hotel. Naruto was out like a light within minutes, but Temari remained awake. She smiled to herself, thinking about Naruto.

"I seriously wonder if there's a limit to what he can do..." she decided that it was one of the many things about her blond haired boyfriend that she may never know. She soon drifted off to sleep as well.

1414141414

**Two days later...**

Naruto was sitting on the bank of a river as Jiraiya was writing in his little notebook. Gaara was off doing some training on his own; something about maintaining control of the Shukaku while using it's powers...he didn't know for sure. As much as they were alike, Naruto understood that Gaara and he had different bijuu sealed in them, and they were sealed in them differently as well.

"Hey, Ero-sennin, when do we start training?"

Jiraiya frowned, "Just hold your horses, kid, I'm finishing my research." He then continued to scribble notes in his little booklet while Naruto grumbled something about perverts and old men.

Five minutes later, Naruto was standing next to Jiraiya while the man rubbed his chin as though he was thinking. Naruto sighed, "What?"

"Just thinking about your abilities...I heard you know the _**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_. The Hokage said you've established a natural talent at it with the vast amount of chakra you have. I'm just wondering if I should teach you a technique that could further help your ability to make Shadow Clones in battle..."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Really? What is it?"

Jiraiya seemed to be really serious about this...he wasn't grumbling in annoyance at Naruto's impatience. He sighed, "I think it'll be okay for me to teach you...it's called the _**Bunshin **__**Bakuha**_ technique."

Naruto eyes' widened further, "The Clone Explosion technique? Whoa..."

Jiraiya nodded, "Whoa is right. It's an A-rank ability, and with your knack for making Shadow Clones, it could be a trump card for you in a tight situation during battle." Jiraiya folded his arms, "Okay, make ten clones, and we'll get started..."

1414141414

Sasuke was staring at his masked sensei, a perplexed look on his face, "Come again?"

"I'm going to teach you a technique that can cut through a bolt of lightning..." Kakashi replied, a cheerful look on his face, "Usually, this technique would be more harmful than helpful for a ninja, but since you and I have the Sharingan, it can be the perfect jutsu for a quick finish in battle." Kakashi then rolled through three seals like second nature without blinking, and a small spark appeared in his hands, and quickly flared to a crackling ball of lightning, the sound of it's power surging in high pitched chirps, "_**Chidori**_."

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, and was amazed to see that it was all just a very high power surge of chakra being channeled to Kakashi's right hand...yet it was different, "You changed the nature of your chakra..."

"Actually, I have a natural affinity to Lightning, but yes, that's the basic concept. You have an affinity to Fire...so this may take some work on your part...however, if you nail this technique down, you'll have a _very_ powerful jutsu at your disposal. First, however..." Kakashi gave Sasuke a stern look, "This technique is meant as a means of assassination...and it should _never_ be used on allies...understood?"

Sasuke nodded, "Yes."

Kakashi smiled again, "Good. Let's start then."

1414141414

Temari was standing in a clearing in the forests of Konoha, breathing a little heavy. Her fan was leaning against a tree, and Baki was looking at her with a small smile, "You've done well today, Temari. Take a ten minute break before we get started again."

Temari had been training in her wind manipulation, and was learning a technique that would bring that ability to close combat usage. Temari's fight with Tenten taught her something...she wasn't the best at close combat, and if she were to face a strong opponent in that area, she'd be done for. Therefore, Baki decided to teach her the _**Kaze no Yaiba**_.

Temari instead stood straight, and shook her head, "No, Baki-sensei, I need to continue. I'll take a break when I'm sleeping tonight." she got into a taijutsu stance that she knew, and Baki nodded before getting into a stance as well.

1414141414

Night came quicker than Naruto had anticipated, but he was happy with the progress he made today. He had managed to cause a good-sized crater with his new explosive jutsu. Jiraiya had said for him to meet at training ground twenty-three tomorrow for further training.

Naruto decided that a bowl of ramen was in due order, even if it was late. He realized that Temari would probably yell at him for being back so late when he got to his room at the hotel, but he would bear with it. Ramen was his first priority at the moment.

He turned around a corner, deciding to take a shortcut, when he heard a familiar voice, "Are you certain that the Sound will be able to provide enough forces?"

"Of course, Lord Orochimaru is just as eager to crush Konoha as Suna is, after all. It's a win-win situation for both of our villages."

Baki nodded, "Right. Then we'll proceed as planned."

"I trust that Suna will in turn hold it's end of the bargain?"

"Yes, Kabuto, we will make sure to leave the Hokage for Oto to take care of." Baki replied.

Naruto tensed up. The Sound invasion, of course! He almost forgot about that.

"Hm...it seems we have a visitor." Kabuto spoke, and Naruto was suddenly aware of two people behind him, "Ah, you're Naruto...aren't you?"

Naruto whirled around, and was face to face with a young man with glasses and silver hair, along with Baki as well standing behind the stranger. Naruto glanced at Baki, who gave him a nod, which basically spoke the words 'go along with it'.

Naruto spoke, "I am. You were in the Chunin exams...Kabuto right?"

Kabuto smiled politely, "My, you really do have a interesting group of students, Baki. I hardly met this kid, yet he can remember my name."

Baki nodded, "Yes, he's an interesting kid alright...a little clumsy at times, but reliable when the time calls for it."

Kabuto nodded, and turned to Baki, "I trust you have already informed your students about the invasion?"

Baki gave nod as well, "Yes, all of them are aware of the plans."

"Good, good, it's important to keep everyone informed about the plans. Now...the signal will be an explosion from the west gate of Konoha, as we agreed. We'll proceed from there with the invasion." Kabuto spoke, "We'll have our forces hiding among the audience at the Chunin exam stadium, so Suna can take care of the outside threats and leave the major ANBU threat inside the arena to us."

Baki nodded, and turned to Naruto, "I want you, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari to remain within the stadium until the enemy is eliminated, then proceed with eliminating any enemies you meet after that while heading towards the Academy."

"Yes, Baki-sensei."

Kabuto smiled, "Very well. I'll see you three in a few weeks then. Good luck at the finals, Naruto." and with that, the silver haired Oto-nin disappeared into a puff of smoke. Baki signaled for Naruto to follow him.

Both were quiet for a moment before Baki spoke, "Right...I think we're safe now." He turned to Naruto, "Listen, Naruto. I want you to remain training as usual until the exams come. Suna's forces _will_ be among the Oto-nin, but when the signal is given, we'll begin attacking Otogakure's forces."

"What's the signal?" Naruto asked.

Baki smirked, "Lord Jiraiya told us to wait for the appearance of a toad squashing a large snake."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but for some reason wasn't all that surprised, "Okay."

Baki put a hand on the blond's shoulder, "It's not going to be easy...unlike us, Oto has nothing to really lose by this aside from some forces. Suna, on the other hand, has always had a low amount in numbers of shinobi. You'll have to fight with everything you've got when the time comes...understood?"

Naruto smiled a bit, "You can count on it."

Baki gave a small nod, "Alright, well I'm off to report to the Hokage. I suggest you keep a close eye on your surroundings for the next few days...this is Orochimaru we're dealing with...and he isn't one to let things get by him easily."

Naruto headed over to Ichiraku's and had three bowls of miso ramen before finally paying for his fill and leaving. He eventually was walking towards the hotel when he felt a presence. He stopped, and turned around, smiling.

"Either you're getting rusty at stealth, or I'm just getting better at sensing others, Sakura."

The pink haired kunoichi laughed a little as Naruto faced her, "Nice to see you too, _Naro_."

Naruto grinned, "What are you doing out so late?"

Sakura shrugged, "Well, seeing as Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei are off training right now, I have nothing to do during the day except for simple D-rank missions. I just got done cleaning out training field fifteen of the left over weapons and stuff. The added bonus is I get to keep anything I might want." She held up an entire bag of shuriken with a grin.

"Heh, wow, you got quite a few weapons out of that mission, Sakura." Naruto said as he looked at the shuriken.

Sakura put the bag back in her pack, and spoke, "Are you busy?"

Naruto shook his head, "I'm free if you need me for something."

Sakura smiled a bit more, "I just wanted to talk for awhile...catch up."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Since when did Sakura ever have an interest in what he was doing? Well, she wasn't _that_ mean...he supposed his absence had worried her quite a bit...he owed her a talk at the least.

The two were at the bridge that their team had always met at back when they were still all together.

"So...you're a Suna-nin...huh?" Sakura asked quietly as she stared at the watery reflections of her and Naruto.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah...Sunagakure's a lot hotter than here, and not as many trees...but they...respect me there."

Sakura sighed, but understood, "Naruto...I know about you being a Jinchuuriki...and I don't care about that fact," she looked at him, and gave soft smile, "You'll always be the number one most unpredictable ninja in my book...and a friend as well."

"Sakura..."

She held out her hand, "I know that you didn't leave out of hatred or ill feelings towards us...so I understand where you were coming from. Kakashi-sensei explained to me and Sasuke."

Naruto nodded, "So...you don't care about me having the Kyuubi in me?"

Sakura's smile lessened only slightly, "Well, I won't lie, it's a _little_ scary to think about..." her smile recovered full force quickly however, "...but I know that you and the Kyuubi are nothing alike...and to have held something inside of you like that, protecting us in turn, is an amazing thing..."

"People hate me for it."

"They're stupid if they do." Sakura spoke, her tone a bit sharper than before, "Naruto, don't listen to them...you're a kind and caring person..." she looked down at the water again, "...I guess it just took something like what happened at Wave Country for me to realize it..."

Her frown made Naruto wish to change topic, "Bah, don't worry about it, Sakura. I'm not mad at you. By the way, how has Konoha been since I've been gone? How has everyone been?"

Sakura giggled; Naruto was sure one to change the mood of things so quickly, "Konoha is still Konoha...well, at least it is with the exams going on." she paused, "You'd be surprised how much your absence changed everyone."

"What do you mean?" Naruto inquired, raising an eyebrow behind his cloth mask.

"Well..." she began, clearing her throat, "...for starters, Sasuke's become more...social with everyone. He's not as distant with us in case you couldn't tell. I've learned genjutsu, and I've improved in my close combat a bit too!"

Naruto grinned; he was glad that his team was able to get better even in his absence...as much as it also hurt him to hear it.

"However...Kakashi-sensei was visiting the Memorial Stone a lot more than usual since you left...and Ichiraku almost had to change business hours without you around...luckily Sasuke and I made it our job to go their at least once a week after training...we also got a few of the others to come along as well." Sakura continued.

Naruto, who was wide-eyed, spoke, "Wait, Ichiraku almost had to change business hours?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, without you around, the money they were making was much less...you were their favorite _and_ best customer, Naruto. A good portion of their profits apparently came from you, believe it or not."

Naruto laughed, "Wow, good thing I've been going there for food while I'm here."

Sakura went on, "Let's see...oh, well, the others in our group felt your absence too. Shikamaru and Chouji actually admitted that they missed you being around sometimes when they were hanging out. Hm...well, Ino never knew you that well, but with you being gone, Sasuke and I became good friends, and I realized that my crush on him was kind of...well...stupid...we're just good friends now." she shook her head, "Ino and I are friends again, needless to say." She tapped her chin for a moment, "Um...oh! Man, you wouldn't believe the huge fit Iruka-sensei had when he heard you were gone. He almost attacked Kakashi-sensei before a few ANBU at the Hokage Tower stopped him when we reported back to the Third. The Hokage himself was really sad to hear of you being gone, but I think he had a feeling he'd be seeing you again..."

Naruto amazed. He never knew so many people actually were concerned about him back here in Konoha. He felt ashamed...he didn't want everyone to be _worried_ about him...that was not the plan he had in his mind. He had hoped that with him being gone, everyone's lives would have been easier...mabye better too.

"Naruto...don't worry about it. You left because you thought it was the best thing to do with you being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Besides," she smirked a bit, "I hear that you and Temari are quite close."

Naruto blushed a bit, "Well, yeah, I guess...we're boyfriend and girlfriend..."

Sakura couldn't help but giggle, "Hehehehe, Naruto, you should see your face. You're as red as a tomato!"

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto groaned, a smile on his face despite the teasing.

Sakura laughed a bit more before surprising the blond further and giving him a hug, "Baka, I'm teasing you..." she pulled back and grinned, "...you do know that if you upset her, I'll be the first to knock your block off after she's done with you, right?"

Naruto nodded, knowing that Sakura meant well with the warning, "Right, Sakura-chan."

Sakura let go, and spoke with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, "So, have you kissed her yet?"

"What?!" Naruto replied, "Don't you think you should be talking to Temari about that kind of stuff??"

Sakura just laughed more upon seeing Naruto's embarrassed face, "Just kidding, Naruto." She laughed more, "Man, you're so easy to tease."

Naruto didn't find anything funny about this, and folded his arms as he gave a frustrated pout, "That's cruel, Sakura-chan."

"Oh, relax." she grinned, "Besides, Temari already told me about her and you..."

"What??!!" Naruto was wide-eyed now.

Sakura, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. Seriously, Naruto was just too much fun, "Naruto, I have to admit, I never thought you to be the romantic type," she gave Naruto a mischievous smirk as she continued, "Temari says that you like to take her on long walks...and you showed her the Hokage Monument on the first week you arrived here."

Now, Sakura wouldn't admit it, but she was a little jealous of Temari...then again, Sakura knew that she had plenty of chances with Naruto. Sakura decided that the blonds deserved each other...besides, Temari and Sakura seemed to get along well. May as well have Naruto dating a girl Sakura could get along with.

As the two headed back into the residential area, Naruto spoke, "Hey, Sakura?"

"Yeah, Naruto?"

Naruto gave her a weak grin, "Thanks...for being a good friend...I mean it..." he gave her a hug, and sighed, "I was worried about what would happen if I ever came back here..."

Sakura nodded as she returned the hug, "Baka...I could never really hate you...as much as I may have said it, you never were a bad person...if anything, I should be the thankful one for you being able to always forgive me for being mean to you."

The two eventually said goodnight, and Sakura watched the blond leave. As soon as he was gone and out of sight, she frowned. She had almost brought up the topic of his parents twice...and stopped herself from doing so. It was hard for her, but Kakashi had told her and Sasuke _not_ to tell Naruto anything about that. She understood a bit...he would be shaken by it...but someday he would find out, one way or another. She only hoped that she would be there the day he found out...

1414141414

The month had come and gone fairly quickly for Naruto. His training with Jiraiya had been spread out randomly, making it difficult for the blond to set up any real schedule with the Toad Sage, but he had improved greatly nevertheless. Gaara himself was much more in control of his Earth style techniques, and it showed with the numerous boulders that had been created in various Konoha training grounds. Both of the boys had increased greatly in their skills...Jiraiya couldn't have been more proud of the two.

As Naruto and the sand siblings headed towards the giant Chunin Exam stadium, the blond reminded himself of something that made his heart rate increase ever so slightly; this exam would end up being a battle to stop Otogakure before the day was through. Clenching a fist, Naruto focused on the doors ahead that led to the inside of the stadium. He'd do everything in his power to protect Konoha...even if he had left it, it was still the place he was born and raised. Besides, he had friends and precious people here too.

Little did he know just how much he'd be putting those words to the test today...

**End of Chapter Fourteen: Yes, I know, major delay on this one. I've been working a lot though, and I need sleep too like everyone else...as much as I may think otherwise. Anyway, Naruto has begun his unofficial apprenticeship to Jiraiya...even if he doesn't know it. I threw in Gaara knowing Earth style because I figured sand and earth are alike, and Gaara's awesome that way. Besides, what could be cooler than Gaara using jutsu created by Jiraiya? Huh? Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next up will be the Chunin Exam finals, and more! I know, you can't wait, can you? You're just _dying_ to know what I have planned, don't you? Well, guess what? I'm not telling, mwahahahaha...ahem....thanks for reading.**

**Jutsu notes:**

_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu- (Spiritualism Technique)- **__(Original)__**- **_This technique allows the summoner to call upon animals, objects, and even the dead in some cases to fight on their behalf. With animal summons (like toads for instance), the user often must sign a blood contract in order to call upon the summon creature.

_**Oiroke no Jutsu- (Sexy Technique)- **__(Original)__**- **_A technique developed by Naruto himself. It's basically a modified henge technique where Naruto changes his appearance to that of a nude, sexually appealing woman. The technique is used by him to knock out perverts, at least according to him it is...

_**Doton: Yomi Numa- (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld)-**__ (Original)__**-**_An Earth element technique where the user forms the proper seals, and makes a vast swamp appear beneath their opponent to sink and kill them.

_**Bunshin Bakuha- (Clone Explosion)- **__(Original)__**- **_A technique where the user makes what appears to be a normal shadow clone at first glance. However, the user can detonate the clone at any time to create a large explosion.

_**Chidori- (Thousand Birds)-**__ (Original)__**-**_ Also called _Lightning Blade_. By focusing chakra into the user's hand, a strong electric current is created in around the hand holding the chakra, and essentially altering the nature of the user's chakra. They can also alter the strength and range of the attack. Kakashi Hatake invented this technique. One should note that the _**Chidori**_ is essentially the same technique as _**Raikiri**_. The user then uses amazing speed to deliver a powerful thrust with their electrified arm to strike through any target. This speed has made it an ideal assasination move. However, such speed can easily be countered when the user is moving so fast, so the Sharingan is used in conjunction to predict the targets moves and strike home. The name _**Chidori **_derives from the words 'One Thousand Birds' since the speed and power of the chakra causes it to sound like the chirping of one thousand birds. _**Raikiri **_derives from after it was said that Kakashi used the technique to cut a lightning bolt in two. This technique requires a large amount of chakra, and can therefore be used only so many times a day

_**Kaze no Yaiba- (Sword of Wind)- **__(Original)__**- **_A technique where the user forms the needed handseal, and then has a whirlwind envelope the opponent. Unlike an actual sword, this technique cannot meet resistance from another weapon, allowing the jutsu to cut the user to pieces.


	15. The Leaf in the Ashes Part One

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I sure as hell never will seeing that I cannot for the life of me draw that well. Kishimoto on the other hand, being the talented man that he is, DOES own Naruto. (sigh)**

**Chap. 15: The Leaf in the Ashes- Part One**

The roar of the crowd rattled through the bones of the nine Genin as the looked around the stadium that would shortly be holding one of the most celebrated events in the Elemental Countries. It wasn't unusual to see wealthy lords and travelers from half way across the continent appear for this event, wherever it was held.

Hayate Gekkou stood before the contestants along with a second instructor, who the Genin were told was named Genma Shiranui. He was a Jounin though, unlike Hayate, "Alright, this exam will be just like the previous one. However, as the Hokage stated, even if you lose the match, you can still be promoted if you perform well enough."

The combatants all nodded to Genma, and were then instructed to head to the bleachers until they were called down. Only Naruto and Neji stayed behind. Genma waited for the crowd to quiet down before he spoke, "Welcome everyone, to the Chunin Exam Finals! Our first match will be between Naro Uzaki of Sunagakure and Neji Hyuuga of Konohagakure!"

Naruto got into his taijutsu stance while Neji crossed his arms and gave the Suna-nin a smirk, "You were the loudmouth who wouldn't shut up at the Preliminaries, weren't you?" He shook his head, "It's just as they say; the one who's loudest is usually the weakest."

"What did you say?!" Naruto growled, bristling in anger, "You punk, now I really _will_ give you a beating!"

Genma cleared his throat, silencing the two, "As I was saying, Hayate and I will be co-referees in this match. Let it be known that even if they lose, all contestants are capable of being promoted to Chunin in the finals...now," He chewed on his senbon needle that he held in his teeth for a second, "Begin!"

Naruto wasted no time, and pulled out four shuriken from his pouch, tossing them at Neji. The Hyuuga genius didn't even flinch as he sidestepped two and caught the other two, "Pathetic, projectiles won't work on me. Surely you know that much about the Hyuuga, don't you?"

"I don't care what clan you're from, I'm not letting someone who's such a jerk win this match! I'll prove that being born with a noble name means nothing in a fight!" Naruto rushed at the Hyuuga with a furious battle cry.

Neji merely batted Naruto's fist to downward, and drove an elbow into Naruto's chin. Naruto fell back, muttering curses as he got up.

"You see? I barely had to put any effort into that, and I was _defending_ myself. If I were to attack outright, you would be finished. Quit while you still can, and save you and your village some dignity." Neji spoke as he stared Naruto down coldly.

"You wish! Chew on this, jerk! _**Fuuton: Kiritori Kazehigyou no Jutsu**_!" Naruto swiped two blades of high speed wind at the Hyuuga. Neji, however, did something that Naruto had not been expecting.

"_**Kaiten**_!!"

Naruto's jaw went slack as he watched the Hyuuga spin around wildly in place, the wind attacks going off into different directions. Naruto would have called that cheating, but it technically wasn't sure what had happened.

Hinata, who had been sitting in the stands by Kiba, went wide eyed as she stared at her older cousin, "Neji...he mastered _**Kaiten**_...?"

Kiba looked over to his teammate, "Hey, Hinata? What did Neji just do?"

"H-he used a technique that the Hyuuga main family passes down through each generation...but...Neji's part of the Branch family. The technique allows the Byakugan user to repel most attacks from almost all angles by releasing an enormous amount of chakra..." she felt her insides tighten...Naruto was down there fighting her cousin.

She still couldn't believe it, but the boy she had admired for almost as long as she could remember was wearing a Suna-nin hitai-ite. She didn't know what to think...had he really betrayed Konoha? Suna was ally of Konoha though, right?

She shook her head, and continued to watch the match. For now, she would merely be a spectator. She _would_ confront Naruto about this though. She had some questions that needed answering...

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Naruto was getting tired of this. No matter what weapon he threw, no matter what area he tried to strike, no matter how fast he moved, Neji just countered it with that all-seeing kekkai genkai. Naruto was vaguely aware that he was working up a decent sweat, while Neji was only dusting himself off a bit from the dirt he had kicked up.

Naruto created a few more Shadow Clones, and they circled Neji, trying to find an opening. Neji's Byakugan flared to life as two clones ran at him. With the grace of a dancer on a stage, Neji took a back-step while merely pushing the two opposing fists away from him, their own speed causing them to roll on the ground before getting back up. Naruto instead tried three clones, only for similar results, the third clone receiving a open palm strike to the shoulder, causing it to pop into smoke. The same thing happened at least four more times, and no matter what the number, Neji deflected the attacks with little effort.

"I don't know what it is that's made you so bound and determined to try and defeat me, but it won't help you any, Uzaki." Neji spoke as he looked at Naruto with that high and mighty tone of voice.

"You really want to know?! I'll tell you why! You went and almost killed your own cousin, claiming from the start that she didn't have a chance! What kind of person does that to a fellow ninja of their village, let alone a member of their family??"

Neji frowned, "You wouldn't be able to understand the reason's why unless I explained them to you."

"I've got all day..." Naruto spoke as he watched Neji closely. However, he was surprised when Neji instead undid his hitai-ite. As he pulled it off, he noticed on the boy's now bare forehead a design of sorts...an 'x' design or something.

"This is the caged bird seal placed on all branch members of the Hyuuga clan." Neji explained, indicating to the green seal, "It's through this seal that the Main Family is able to control the Branch Family."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "So?"

Neji continued, "Let me explain _why_ I detest the Main Branch so much...you see, Lord Hiashi was actually the older of a pair of twins. His twin brother was Hizashi Hyuuga...my father." A steady murmur was starting to grow in the audience members that could hear, "However, the clan council dictated that with my uncle being the older of the two, he was to become the clan head, while my father was made a Branch member. The Branch Family's duty is to protect the Main Family. At the same time, just to make sure that no one can steal our clan's secrets on the Byakugan, this seal is placed on all Branch members to help insure that. A Main Family member can activate the seal, causing extreme pain to the seal's bearer, and even kill them. It was made to guard our doujutsu; it effectively removes it from the bearer if the seal is used correctly. The Main Family, however, uses this seal to keep the 'lesser' members in line...as they put it."

Naruto took this information in, "So you're saying that you detest the Main Family for how they treat the Branch members?"

"That's not the only reason. Years ago, Kumogakure was at war with Konoha. The Hidden Cloud and our village decided to finally reach a peace agreement, and they sent a small group of their shinobi here to make the plans. However, this was merely a cover for what Kumo was really after; the Hyuuga's Byakugan. One night during their stay in Konoha, the leader of the group managed to get into the clan's compound, and kidnapped Lady Hinata. However, my uncle had stopped the man and killed him on the spot. Kumo got word of this, and demanded that Lord Hiashi be turned over to them." Neji furrowed his brows in anger as he went on, "It had been decided that _my_ father, Hiashi's brother, take Hiashi's place, since the two were twins. The clan sent him to them, and he was killed no doubt, but since he held the caged bird seal, the clan was able to remove the Byakugan from him. Needless to say, Kumo was furious by this."

Naruto could actually understand Neji a bit, but it still didn't justify his behavior, "So there's bad blood between you and the Main Family. So what?! Hinata's far from snobbish like most nobles from what I saw in that fight! Even a foreign ninja like myself can see when things are taken personal in a fight. Instead of being a real shinobi and proving you don't have to take the Main Family's crap, you just sulk and whine about it while picking on those weaker than you!" Naruto made his favorite seal, and a dozen clones appeared, "Now I'll just have to beat some sense into you for being such an arrogant jerk! I'll prove to you that superiority isn't determined by blood!"

Neji tied his hitai-ite back on and chuckled a bit, "You don't get it, do you? You're fated to lose this battle...it's destiny. I'm an elite, and you, while a talented Genin of Suna, are not capable of defeating me." He stared hard at Naruto as he activated his Byakugan, "Give up."

"I'm not letting you off that easily!" Naruto, along with his horde of clones, charged Neji. The genius Hyuuga shook his head before dispatching three of the clones with three precise taps of his hands. They exploded in smoke, and Neji turned to the next onslaught with similar results. Within a few short minutes, Naruto was once again alone.

"It's sad, really. You seem to rely so heavily on that jutsu, yet from what I can see, it's not getting you anywhere." Neji crouched low, "You're in the zone of my Eight Trigrams..."

Naruto barely had time to react as Neji rushed to meet him. Many ninja already saw the boy as being finished...the blond, however, had other plans...

Naruto quickly forced out some wind chakra from his left hand, effectively stopping Neji's hand in the process. Neji actually blinked in surprise, "What? You stopped me?"

Naruto grinned, "Got you!" He grabbed Neji by the wrists of either arm and delivered a knee to the gut. He then began a quick series of punches to Neji's chest, causing the boy to keel over in pain. Naruto was about to deliver an ax kick to the crouching boy when Neji surprised him by catching the leg and tapping it in a certain place. Naruto wobbled back a few steps, wincing in pain as his leg seemed to feel weakened.

"Well...that was certainly unexpected, Naro Uzaki..." Neji got up, and crouched back into his stance, "If anything else, you were lucky with that quick stop on my attack. It _won't_ happen again, though." Neji once again prepared for his attack, and Naruto tried to regain his leg's control while keeping his guard up.

"Now then, here I go! _**Hakke Rokujuuyonshou**_! Two palms...!" Neji delivered two quick jabs to Naruto mid section, "Four palms...!" His barrage quickened a bit as he hit Naruto in four other places, "Eight palms! Sixteen palms...!" Naruto felt his body scream in pain as he was hit repeatedly at impressive speed, "Thirty-two palms!" Naruto actually felt blood rise up to his throat, and Neji then began to hammer away at Naruto's tenketsu points with no mercy, "Sixty-four palms!!" Neji finished with a final blow, and Naruto went flying back several feet, skidding to a stop as he coughed up soil.

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Meanwhile, in the stands, Temari was standing next to her two brothers, gripping the railing tightly, "Idiot! What was he thinking taking on a Hyuuga at close range?! Every Academy student in the elemental countries knows that's suicide!"

"Easy, Temari...look, the knuckle head is getting back up." spoke Kankuro as he nodded down to the battle. Temari looked in shock to see, much to her disbelief as well as the disbelief many other shinobi in the stadium, the blond boy standing up.

"It seems Naruto is serious about defeating this Neji..." Gaara noted, "He's drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra.

As if on cue, Naruto began to glow with a faint red aura. He didn't change in appearance at all excluding the red hue in his eyes. He let loose a wave of chakra, sending a chill throughout the crowd.

"Naruto..." Temari whispered, "...don't you dare lose this...not when today is such a critical day for both Konoha and Suna..."

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Sasuke Uchiha leaned against a wall some distance away from his masked instructor. They both watched intently as their former teammate got up, glowing red as a bonfire for a brief moment.

"Naruto's gotten stronger over the month." Sasuke noted, Kakashi merely nodding a reply.

Sasuke smirked a bit, and turned to a source of cheering, only to see Sakura standing up and rooting for their friend. Sure, she was yelling, "Naro!" instead of Naruto, but it still meant the same to those who knew the truth.

_'Don't lose, dobe...you're too good for that...'_

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Neji stared in astonishment as Naruto had effectively brought out a strange source of chakra. His Byakugan helped him note that it had originated somewhere in his stomach area, and that the chakra felt somewhat unnatural for a human. He was mostly worried, however, about the fact that the blond had effectively negated Neji closing up his tenketsu points so quickly. No ordinary person, no matter how good at chakra control they were, should be able to do that!

As Neji stared at the swirling red vortex that was Naruto's chakra, he noticed something that gave off a feeling of pure malice. The chakra inside the blond then did something that shocked the Hyuuga to the core; the chakra twisted to form an image of a snarling beast of some sort before it exploded out of Naruto.

"How is this possible?! You should be on the ground, struggling to even lift a hand!" Neji spoke, trying to find an explanation for this.

"Didn't I tell you?" Naruto spoke, his eyes glued onto Neji's pure white irises, "It doesn't matter what clan you're from, Neji Hyuuga. I'm still going to beat you, no matter what!"

Naruto blurred away, and Neji barely was able to keep up as he reappeared in the air to his right. Naruto threw a few shuriken, forcing Neji to spin in order to deflect them at the high speed they were going.

The crowd was deadly quiet with fascination as the past year's rookie was dealing with some random ninja from Suna that no one had ever heard of...well, a few knew who he was...an even smaller number knew of the strange ability he was using that gave him this amazing strength and speed.

Neji cursed as he was forced to draw a kunai, seeing as Naruto was weilding one as well and traveling at even greater speed than before. The two locked steel to steel briefly before Naruto jumped back, creating several clones. One by one, they charged Neji with reckless abandon, not caring if they were struck. Naruto, meanwhile, stood back a bit, waiting for an opening.

A clone managed to distract Neji for a brief moment with a kick aimed towards the Hyuuga's jaw. Neji blocked it and dispelled the clone. That's when he noticed his true opponent practically flying at him, kunai in hand in a reverse grip so that he could deliver a punch followed by a quick slash from his small blade.

Neji had enough; it was time to end this. Just before Naruto reached him, Neji spun rapidly, causing yet another vortex. Along with Naruto's own violent chakra output, the two attacks exploded, causing a tremendous blast of light. Many in the audience had to shield their eyes as the light shined for those few seconds. As the dust cleared, everyone looked to the center, anxious to see what had happened.

Genma and Hayate both looked to the settling cloud of dust, and what they saw was both somewhat expected and disappointing. Neji stood, tired but victorious as the unconscious body of Naro Uzaki lay in a heap a few feet away.

"...it's a bit of a disappointment...Naro Uzaki. For a moment, I thought you would prove fate wrong...however, as I said earlier...no one can defy fate." Neji spoke as he gave Naruto a slight frown.

Then, he heard it, "_**Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu**_!!"

Neji's let out a gasp as the unconscious Naruto burst into smoke. Wind erupted out of the ground below the Hyuuga, creating a giant hole from Naruto's favorite wind technique. Neji found himself sent high into the air by the high speed blast of wind. He coughed a bit, feeling the last of his strength leaving him. The last thing he saw was the image of Naro Uzaki appear above him, reeling back a fist to finish him off.

_"...I see...it looks like that you proved me wrong after all..."_

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Hiashi Hyuuga watched from his seat in the stands as Neji was sent to the ground, sending debris in every direction. He had heard Neji's story of how he loathed the Main Family for what they had done...and Hiashi couldn't entirely blame the boy.

"The winner of the first match is Naro Uzaki of Sunagakure!" spoke Hayate, almost immediately after this was announced, the stands erupted. It was an unseen turn around, and had made for a wonderful start for the Chunin Finals. Hiashi, however, had other thoughts on his mind.

"Hanabi, stay here."

Hiashi's youngest daughter nodded, "Yes, Tou-san."

Hiashi walked down to the inner part of the stadium to meet up with wherever they were taking Neji. He had some things to share with Neji...some things that should have been told to the boy years ago...

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Naruto watched as Neji was hauled off the field on a stretcher, his lips bleeding from the final impact Naruto dealt to his face. He'd be patched up in no time though, Naruto wasn't that worried.

It was only then that he noticed it...

...applause...

He looked around, and couldn't help but grin. Had it not been for the cloth mask over his face, everyone would have been able to see the grin on his face, even from the nosebleed section.

As Naruto passed by Hayate and Genma, he heard the man with the senbon in his mouth call out his name, "Hey, Naro."

Naruto turned to the Jounin, and raised an eyebrow, "Uh...yeah?"

Genman smirked a bit as Hayate nodded to the blond, "You put on quite a show there. Really gave that Hyuuga a good beating. It may sound bad to say it...but that boy was asking for it. Nice job."

Naruto chuckled, "Heheh...aw, it wasn't anything special! He just needed to be taught a lesson! I'm sure he'll see what I meant now!"

Naruto headed for the entrance back to the stands while a few of the other shinobi spoke amongst themselves. Namely the Genin, "Hey, Sakura? That Naro kid...doesn't he look familiar to you?"

Sakura turned to Ino, and faked confusion, "Huh? Naro? I don't see any resemblance between him and anyone I know...I mean, he's wearing a mask, Ino!"

Ino looked down at the exiting blond, and shook her head, "No...I just _know_ that there's something about him that rings a bell...but I don't know what it is..."

Sakura laughed, a bit nervously, and then pointed down to the stands, "Hey! Shikamaru's heading down there! I think he and Temari are going to start their match!"

Ino looked down to the battleground, and a smile crept on her face, "Go, Shikamaru!! You can beat her, no problem!!"

Chouji, who had been eating and remaining relatively quiet the whole while, spoke, "...Ino, you do realize that this is Shikamaru we're talking about...right? He's more likely to quit than-"

"Chouji!! That's our teammate down there! How can you even say that?!"

Chouji just shrugged, "I know Shikamaru...he's not one to do more than what he feels like doing. If things get to rough down there, he'll probably just call quits and forfeit."

Ino frowned, and resumed cheering the Nara while Sakura looked to see Temari walk down the steps to her spot on the field. Sakura had spent some time with Temari before the finals during her month long stay, and she probably wouldn't be the only one to admit that the Sabaku family's sole female member was quite a powerful opponent.

As the crowd cheered for the upcoming match, Shikamaru and Temari faced each other as Hayate and Genma looked at each Genin. Hayate then spoke after coughing, "So, are the two of you ready?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Might as well get this over with..."

"I'm ready." nodded Temari.

"Okay then, the second match of the first round finals is Temari of Sunagakure versus Shikamaru Nara of Konohagakure! Let this match begin!"

Genma and Hayate gave the signal, and Temari smirked at the slouching boy, "Heh, you know, if you keep standing there, I'll just have to blow you off your feet to get you moving."

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders a few times to loosen them up, "Man...of all the people I had to be paired with, why did it _have_ to be a girl?"

Temari's eyes flickered for a moment, and Hayate and Genma instinctively took a step back, "_What_ did you say?"

"I said that it sucks that I'm fighting a girl..." the Nara repeated, not flinching in the slightest as killer intent was practically oozing off of the blond haired girl.

"...that's it, now I'm definitely going to send you to the ER at Konoha's hospital..." she reeled back as her fan unfurled, showing three moons, "_**Kamaitachi**_!!"

Shikamaru jumped back, avoiding the majority of the razor sharp wind's gusts, but he still was sent flying. He hit a tree, and quickly got up to hide behind it, "Man, I really shouldn't have tried to upset her...I thought she'd lose focus when she gets mad...she just gets scarier..."

A heavy gust smashed into the tree, causing Shikamaru to duck under the wind, "Hey, come out of here and fight, you damn coward!!" The screams of an enraged Sabaku no Temari echoed around the stadium. Three certain boys visibly cringed as they heard her voice, knowing just how deadly the owner of it was.

"Shikamaru didn't have to be stupid and say that, did he? Now he went and ticked off Temari-chan..." Naruto groaned as he looked down at the unfortunate Leaf-nin's plight. Kankuro and Gaara could only shake their head, too afraid that Temari would hear them if they spoke about her.

Another wind barreled into the lone tree, causing Shikamaru to sigh, "Tch...so troublesome...and she's a long range attacker too..." He looked up to the sky to see a few peaceful clouds pass over, "Man...what a drag..."

Temari had just about enough of the ponytail wearing punk's game of hide-and-go-seek. She thought for a moment, taking advantage of her time, "Getting too close to him leaves me open for that shadow technique of his...yet as long as he's behind that tree, I can't do anything to attack him...unless..."

She set her open fan on the ground for a moment, and instead held out an open palm, fingers together. She focused her chakra into her hand, and smiled as a small breeze picked up around her. She looked to see a high powered wind spinning around her hand.

Hayate looked at her hand in amazement, "Genma, get a look of that...she's just a Genin and she's already able to create a blade of wind chakra..."

Genma chewed on his senbon absentmindedly as he looked at the blond, "Impressive...she's definitely a talented kunoichi...too bad none of our own got in."

Baki watched as his only female student finished creating her _**Kaze no Yaiba**_. He wasn't too sure what she had planned; Temari had been picking up a bit on Naruto's habit of surprise tactics lately, so he couldn't be too sure...

Temari lifted her fan up with her free hand, and tossed it into the air after channeling some chakra into it. The fan floated, suspended in place. Temari grinned, and hopped up onto it. She slowly glided over to where Shikamaru was, and waited until he was right under her.

Shikamaru had taken off his vest, and now only his netted shirt was on his top. He began to tie it to a kunai, and finished just in time to see a rather odd shadow float over head. He looked up, and blinked a few times before uttering, "Crap..."

Temari wasted no time, and with all the grace of a leaf in the wind, grabbed her fan with her free hand and slammed a blast of air to the Nara boy. He jumped to avoid it, and Temari landed, wind blade in her hand. She ran up to him, and made a quick swipe with the wind technique.

Shikamaru cried out in pain as a few gashes on his arm appeared. He looked at her, a bit astonished, "So you learned a close combat technique?"

Temari winked, "Damn straight I did. Now, time to pay back for that comment you made earlier!" The wind mistress pulled back her fan, and with a battle cry heaved her fan, blasting the Nara back with a blast of wind.

Shikamaru smacked into the wall of the stadium, and groaned. Well, at least he managed to get the second part of his plan going. He quickly ran through a series of seals, "_**Kage Mane no Jutsu**_!"

Temari jumped away as a thin line of shadow came creeping out from the boy. She jumped back a bit further as it continued to stretch out, and then noticed that it eventually stopped, "Just as I thought. Your shadow can't go further than it's original surface area," she drew a line just ahead of the shadow with her fan, "As long as I'm behind this line, I'll be fine."

Shikamaru just smirked though, "You really shouldn't talk so much..."

Temari narrowed her eyes, and then noticed a shadow approaching her. She looked above to see a kunai of sorts...attached to a shirt? Damn it, the clever jerk managed to make a parachute from his shirt?

She ran back a few more steps as Shikamaru used the added shadow to further his reach. However, that too eventually stopped moving as she increased her distance from the Nara, "Is that all? Because if you have no other ideas, you should probably just give up." For awhile, the two stood there, neither moving. One trying to extend their shadow's reach a few feet further, the other just biding time.

Minutes passed, and just as Temari was about to make her move to blow the idiot away with her fan, she noticed something off about the boy. He still kept that smirk on his face, "Checkmate."

She made to grab her fan, but found herself freeze in place, "Wha-?"

She managed to turn around, and saw a shadow appearing from the hole Naruto had made...how did she not notice that sooner? She looked over to Shikamaru, and saw the other end of the hole that Naruto had used to get under the ground to attack Neji, only a few feet from the boy.

Dang it, he caught her...

"I have to admit, you're tough, but I managed to capture you in the end. You can thank that other Suna-nin for making the hole in the ground for me." Shikamaru spoke as he took a few steps forward, causing Temari to move as well.

"You had that planned all along, didn't you?" she growled, "You were toying with me this whole time?!"

Shikamaru shrugged, "A ninja should always be aware of their options and their opponent's abilities, it's only common sense. I have to admit, you were smart to find my technique's weakness, but I already had that covered."

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Ino was cheering in the stands for her triumphant teammate when she heard a chuckle, "He hasn't won yet, Ino."

Ino snapped her head towards Chouji, "What are you talking about? He's got her caught in his _**Kage Mane no Jutsu**_! All he has to do is-"

"I forfeit." spoke a voice from below. Ino turned, and looked in utter disbelief.

"What??" she screamed, "Shikamaru, you dolt! What are you-"

Chouji simply laughed as he looked to Sakura, "I told her."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but continued to watch the scene unfold down below in the arena.

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"I forfeit." spoke Shikamaru, his hand—as well as Temari's—in the air.

Genma nodded, "The winner of this match is Temari of Sunagakure!" There were applause, as well as confused murmurs.

Temari, however, was glaring at the Nara, "What are doing? You had me caught! You could have defeated me with a simple movement or like you did with that Otogakure kunoichi!"

Shikamaru sighed while shrugging his shoulders, "I'm almost out of chakra, and after that happens, you could break free and defeat me. Simple as that. I had been trying to catch you in my shadow technique for too long of a duration of time."

Temari continued to glower at him, "So...you gave up instead of giving me a full fight?" She folded her arms, "I'll admit that you're definitely a good strategist...but I know you could have caught me a lot sooner. You're just a lazy bum!"

In the audience, one could hear the voice of a certain Yamanaka yelling, "You have no idea!"

Temari stomped up the stairs to the bleachers where her family and teammates were, and said nothing for a few minutes.

"Um...good match, Temari-chan."

Temari looked at him before sighing, "Naruto, he could have beaten me. I would hardly call that a match."

Naruto chuckled, "Don't feel bad, Temari! Shikamaru has always been that way as far as I can remember. Don't let it get to you too much. Besides, that means you and I both advance to the next round!"

Everyone quieted down a bit as Hayate had a brief coughing fit, "Right...now then, for the third match of the first round, will Sabaku no Kankuro and Shino Aburame please come down?"

Kankuro paused for a minute, and looked to the other three, "...we don't have much time left..."

Temari as well as Naruto both nodded, suddenly realizing just what would be happening in a few minutes. Gaara said nothing, his silence speaking for itself. The plan for the invasion was that the attack would be ready by the third match. Kankuro knew that he may very well have to prolong the battle.

"Shino's got bugs, Kankuro. I don't know what they do, but from what I saw, they aren't friendly in a battle. Watch yourself. Hopefully we can start the counterattack shortly after the invasion starts." Naruto spoke, showing a rare display of maturity.

Kankuro nodded, "Right..." he gave the three a smirk, "Wish me luck."

Kankuro hopped down from his spot, and walked towards Shino, who was patiently waiting for him as Hayate and Genma stood a short distance away. Kankuro didn't miss the brief nod from the two referees. They knew what was going on as well.

What surprised Kankuro was what his opponent had to say, "Our sensei has already informed us of what to do. I'll do my part to carry this match on as long as possible." He spoke quietly. Hayate and Genma were the only others who had heard him.

"Now then," spoke Genma, "Let the third match of the first round of the Chunin finals begin!"

Kankuro jumped back a few feet, and watched as Shino pushed his sunglasses up a bit, "Even though we've got bigger things to worry about, I'm still interested in this fight."

"Indeed, I admit that your skill have my interest as well." replied Shino.

Shino delayed no further, and sent out a swarm of bugs. Kankuro surprised the audience when he made a hand seal, and melted into the ground.

A few surprised shouts were heard from audience members, and Baki, who was standing in one of the back rows, smirked, _'Looks like Kankuro finally got his Doton down to a decent understanding...'_

Yes, much like Gaara, Kankuro had an elemental affinity to Earth style techniques. He didn't have that good of a collection of techniques, but he knew how to use the style efficiently enough for a battle.

Shino looked around a bit as his kikaichu beetles buzzed around, searching out for any bit of Kankuro's chakra.

Suddenly, a hand shot out from beneath Shino, and the crowd gasped in surprise, "_**Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu**_!"

Shino was yanked underground quickly, only his head and neck remaining above the surface. Kankuro then jumped out of the soil, and dusted himself off, "You look surprised...wasn't expecting me to pull off an elemental ninjutsu I take it?"

Shino shook his head a bit, and much to Kankuro's surprise, the Leaf-nin burst into a swarm of beetles. Kankuro jumped back yet again, and turned around to look at Shino, who was standing underneath the lone tree in the ring, "I never underestimate my opponents, so I was ready for an attack from you from any direction."

The puppet user laughed, not a scoff, but one of enjoyment, "Heh, I guess I shouldn't be taking you too lightly then?" He yanked off Karasu, and let the bandages fall, "I guess I'll just have to-"

_**Booom!!**_

All the shinobi of Hidden Leaf looked to a plume of smoke, and immediately jumped to action. They weren't surprised to see a genjutsu had been placed on the crowd, putting them, as well as the shinobi who had been unable to dispell it, to sleep.

The invasion had begun...

1515151515

Kakashi ducked as he avoided a spray of shuriken from an Oto-nin. He then caught the attacker's fist and drove a kunai into his side before throwing him aside. Three Oto-nin were sent flying past him, and a moment later, Gai appeared by Kakashi's side, "Haha! Well, Kakashi, that makes me two enemies ahead of you!"

Kakashi sighed as he blocked a kunai, and threw two of his own at the enemy, "Gai, not now..."

Gai nodded, going serious, "Looks like the Sandaime is already in the middle of fighting Orochimaru..." noted the taijutsu user, seeing the two enemies on top of the building, locked in battle.

Kakashi said nothing, instead turning his attention to a girl with pink hair and a certain Uchiha. He smiled a bit as he saw the two side by side, defending against enemies.

They were learning quickly...

1515151515

Naruto ran through the crowds, avoiding crossfire of jutsu and projectiles. Right behind him were the sand siblings and Baki, "Baki-sensei, the three-headed snake is out there, but I don't see the signal. Where's-" The roar of a certain Sannin was heard in the distance, and a moment later, a large toad came crashing down on the reptilian monstrosity in a plume of smoke, "...oh, there's Ero-sennin..."

"Okay you four, you know your role. Defend the stadium at all costs! I'm going to go assist Suna's reinforcements...no doubt they're getting hammered by Otogakure if they started the counterattack already."

The four Genin gave a salute as Baki dashed off. Naruto clenched his fists tightly, and could feel his heart pumping. This was war...something he remembered hearing Iruka-sensei talk about in class. The tragedies that resulted were, as the teacher had put it, unmeasurable. Loved ones, young and old, killed for a possible upper hand in a struggle between opposing forces.

Naruto felt a gentle grip on his shoulder, and turned to see Temari, "Hey, you okay, Naruto?"

Naruto didn't smile, but gave her a weak nod, "I have you, Gaara, and Kankuro. Of course I am."

Temari nodded, and her eyes went serious, "Right. Gaara, I think we should help the other Konhoha Genin."

Gaara wasted no time, and opened one palm, forming three shuriken with his sand, "I'll make the distraction while you move to help Sasuke and Sakura-san."

Kankuro unraveled Karasu from it's bindings, and smirked, "It's been awhile since I've had to use lethal poison in Karasu's workings..."

The four took a deep breath, and Gaara picked his targets; two Oto-nin moving in to attack the Uchiha and pink-haired girl. As he threw his projectiles, the other three moved, ready to kill if needed.

1515151515

The first wave of Otogakure's forces had been taken out easily enough. Shortly after the giant three headed snake was squashed by one of Jiraiya's battle toads, the Suna-nin began to attack the Hidden Sound forces.

"What the hell are they doing?! They're supposed to be giving us backup so we can take down the Hidden Leaf!" asked a Oto-Jounin as he ducked under a barrel with a fellow ninja in his team.

"You're asking me? Why would-"

His voice was cut off as a kunai whizzed through the air, puncturing his throat.

"You're leader killed the Kazekage. As such, the agreement to assist you in the invasion was made void, not to mention our leader wasn't too keen on the idea to begin with." spoke a Suna-nin who walked out of the shadows with a few others by his side.

"H-how did-?"

"We're shinobi...few things get by us unnoticed..." spoke a kunoichi wearing the Hidden Sand emblem. The last thing the Oto-nin saw was about six shuriken fly at him as he realized it was too late to run.

1515151515

Orochimaru was a clever man, and he knew it. He proved it by this invasion that he had managed to create.

"You see, Sarutobi-sensei? It's part of my plan; burn the Hidden Leaf to the ground with combined forces..." the Snake Sannin chuckled.

The Sandaime gave his former student a grim look, "Orochimaru, you are a fool. Do you not see what is going on? Sunagakure is fighting _beside_ us, not against us. You're plan may have succeeded in killing their leader, but they are not going to be fooled by your lies anymore! You were able to sneak through in a masquerade as their Kazekage, but they knew all along."

Orochimaru, however, laughed, "You foolish old worm! You think I didn't know this may happen?! I had prepared a back up plan for a situation such as this!" the ghastly man then pulled out a single kunai with a odd-looking explosive tag on it...a flare seal of sorts, "With this, Sarutobi-sensei...I shall crush you, along with the rest of this pathetic village. Not even Suna can help you here..."

Orochimaru then threw the kunai straight into the air, and it burst into a bright red light, floating above the roof of the building the fought on. The Third knew the moment he saw it what it meant...

...Orochimaru had _more_ reinforcements arriving.

Another explosion went off in the northwestern part of the village, and the elderly shinobi leader looked to see a giant boulder smash it's way through the walls of the city, crushing numerous victims as it did so...

"Earth style...? No...you didn't?"

"Yes..." Orochimaru replied with a reptilian hiss, "I was delighted to hear that Iwagakure was so eager to be of assistance in our little plan. They're still quite sore over the losses in the Third Great Shinobi War..."

Hizuren Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at the man he had once trained, "I see...it looks like you are truly serious about destroying Konoha, Orochimaru...I can only blame myself for allowing you to go this far." He gathered chakra while Orochimaru did likewise, "It seems that you leave me no choice then. I'll bury you, and correct the mistake I made years ago..."

"Go ahead and try, old man!" Orochimaru laughed, and the two began their fight.

1515151515

Naruto was in the middle of uppercutting an enemy ninja when he felt it; the chakra of the one he had learned to call Jii-san, "Huh? Hey, what's the Old Man doing?!"

Naruto let the enemy fall unconscious as he looked to the roof. The Third was fighting someone...wait...was that guy wearing the Kazekage's outfit?

That must be Orochimaru! Naruto felt his anger bristle. That guy was responsible for killing his adoptive family's father, messing with Gaara's seal, and giving Sasuke that weird mark on his neck!

Temari felt a wind blast by as she saw Naruto tear off to the rooftop where she noted the Hokage and Orochimaru were battling, "Naruto, what are you doing?!" The blond boy made no response, instead using his wind power to give a huge lift off the ground to the battle between the two powerful shinobi.

"Temari, watch it!"

Temari heard Kankuro yell just in time to duck under a few shuriken. She hated to do it, but she couldn't go after him...he was too far ahead, and she had her orders...

...part of her wished she wasn't such a committed kunoichi sometimes...

Meanwhile, Sakura and Sasuke were now, with all of the other Rookie Nine, Team Gai, and Sand Siblings, fighting off the dwindling Otogakure invaders in the stadium. Alone, most of them would have probably died in battle...that's why Genin had it drilled into their heads right away that teamwork was such a valuable asset. Hinata was currently in a hidden chamber of the stadium with a few of the other evacuees who were unfit for fighting. She was still recovering from her injuries she sustained in the Preliminaries after all. Neji was in a similar situation at the village hospital with the other patients. Otherwise, all of the graduating Genin of this year were battling the forces in the giant arena turned war zone.

Hayate and Genma jumped up to the group of shinobi along with the team's respective Jounin instructors, minus Baki, "We just received word of a force from Iwagakure breaching through the northwestern portion of the village wall."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "What is Hidden Rock doing here? We never received word of them being involved."

Temari spoke up to this, "Neither did we. We thought that Suna was Oto's only known ally in this attack. Orochimaru must have known about our discovery of the Kazekage's assassination."

The older and more experienced shinobi of the group weren't looking too happy about this. Asuma vocalized this best, "Well, _this_ is just damn convenient. Now we an international conflict with one of the big five as well. It's going to hit the fan hard no matter how this battle turns out."

Gai raised a fist to the air, "No matter what, we can't let our village be taken without a fight! I say we give them everything we got and show them the fiery passion of our flames of youth!"

"Yosh! I agree, Gai-sensei!" crowed Lee, who was now throwing his fist into the air in a similar fashion.

"Hold on, now, we don't have any clue how big the number is, or what else they may have planned. We need you Genin to stick together and..." Kakashi paused, noticing a certain blond missing. He turned to the Sand Siblings and his own students, "Where's Naruto?!"

The mentioning of the Uzumaki boy's name had an immediate effect with the Rookie Nine.

"What?! Naruto?! I thought he went missing in action months ago!" shouted Kiba.

Shikamaru looked at the masked Jounin in disbelief, "Hold on...you mean Naruto was here?" His eyes widened, "I knew it!" He turned to face the Suna-Genin, "That fourth guy, he's-"

"Settle down, Shikamaru!" Asuma spoke, well aware of the background behind this little story of a certain Jinchuuriki. Kakashi made mention of it about a month ago to him, Kurenai, Gai, and others that had the ranking to know.

Temari once again spoke, this time she couldn't face the masked Jounin, "He ran off before we could stop him. I think he was heading over to help the Sandaime Hokage fight Orochimaru..."

"What?!" came a cry of unison and disbelief from the older shinobi.

Kankuro nodded, a grim look on his face, "Yeah, he looked livid too. I think he has a bone to pick with Orochimaru..."

Sasuke, much to everyone's surprise, spoke up, "We need to go help him!"

"You'll do no such thing, Sasuke!" spoke Kakashi, ignoring the glare from the Uchiha, "All right, I want you Genin to head to the Academy and give all the back up you can. The instructors are no doubt evacuating the students as we speak, but we can't be too sure how well it's going. If the place is empty, proceed to the eastern wall and help over there."

"Kakashi-sensei, the main attacks are occurring in the west though!"

"That's true, Sakura," spoke Kurenai, "You Genin are talented, no doubt, but Iwa is a powerful enemy, much stronger than Otogakure is number wise. You Genin aren't prepared for a full confrontation against them, so you're place is to provide back up to medical units and the counterattack forces, understood?"

Sakura looked over to the smoke billowing from the west, and then to the rooftop where Naruto no doubt was, and nodded, "Yes...I understand our duty."

Temari was looking in a similar direction, though she wasn't showing it as much. On the outside, she was unreadable, just like she had been taught to act during battle. However, on the inside, she was terrified, _'Naruto...'_

"Nee-san..."

Temari turned quickly to Gaara, and saw him looking to the rooftop briefly before turning back to her, "Naruto is strong...he'll make it..."

Temari forced herself to nod, and gripped her youngest brother's hand tightly, "Thanks..."

"Right, Hayate and Genma, see what you can do about gathering the ambush teams and set up a perimeter in the village central. Suna gave us the needed time to hold back the main attack, so we can make arrangements for a surprise attack if the enemy gets that far..." spoke Asuma, lighting up a cigarette.

Hayate and Genma gave a quick nod, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kakashi gave one final look to the Genin, "Also, we need you to bring this to the ANBU headquarters on your way to the Academy..." Kakashi handed Sasuke a small scroll, the Konoha seal printed on the side, "That scroll is a message to the Fire Country's daimyo stating the attack on our village. It is impertinent that this scroll is placed in the hands of our ANBU; they'll send out a small group to deliver it personally." He spoke with utter seriousness, "Consider this a mission for all of you, even you three," Kakashi added, looking to the Suna trio, "This scroll will help our country's leader begin making his own preparations for battle if other nations wish to attack after this."

"You mean...this scroll is a precautionary notice to increase the country's borderssecurity?" spoke Tenten, followed by a murmur from the other Genin.

"That's right. We're at war now..." Asuma spoke with a sigh, "Now go, we've wasted too much time as it is. The rendezvous point for Konoha back up forces will be the east market district. Meet up with the other teams, and do what is needed to help." He took a quick drag before exhaling smoke, "Got it?"

The Genin nodded. Without another word, the group of teenagers took off to complete their task.

The four Jounin watched them go, "...I was hoping this generation wouldn't be seeing any war..." Kakashi spoke as the others gave a silent agreement.

"We better go, no doubt Iwa will be trying to level down our main defenses soon." spoke the Sarutobi. Gai gave a howl of flaming youth while Kurenai merely nodded.

With that, the four jumped off to meet the enemy. One made a silent prayer while taking a look back to the roof that a certain Genin would live through this...

1515151515

Hizuren Sarutobi let out a final breath of fire as he watched the smoldering remains of his _**Karyuudan**_ attack burned away a major portion of roofing where Orochimaru had been standing.

"Come out, I know that didn't kill you." spoke the Third, his voice not wavering at all. Orochimaru reappeared out of the roofing, smiling that serpentine smile of his.

"I see age hasn't hindered your battle instinct, Sarutobi-sensei," Orochimaru sneered, "Don't think that you have the upper hand, though. I am going to make sure that this battle will be your last..."

Orochimaru smirked as he went through a few hand seals, and roof tiles began to rise up and spin. The Sandaime foresaw his student's plan, and made an attempt to move. However, he never expected to have his sink into the roofing. Looking down, the old Hokage wasn't surprised to see a few tendrils of mud holding him in place.

"No escaping this one, _Hokage-sama!_" laughed the original Orochimaru, and with a flick of his wrists, sent the numerous tiles at the Sandaime. Hizuren began to prepare for a substitution when something unexpected happened...

"I've got your back, Old Man!!"

A blast of wind sent the tiles flying harmlessly to the side, and away from the Hokage. A second later, Naruto landed by the elderly shinobi's side, and pulled out a kunai.

"Naruto??" the Sarutobi spoke in shock, "Naruto, what are you _doing_ here?!"

Naruto turned to the man, pulling down his mask, "I'm giving you back up, isn't it obvious?"

The Third Hokage shook his head, "Naruto, you need to leave this battle as soon as-"

That's when he heard four separate pairs of feet landing on on the four corners of the roof. Orochimaru looked at the four Oto-nin, not much older than Naruto himself, "What took you four so long?"

A boy with a messy ponytail and six arms spoke, "Sorry, Orochimaru-sama. We were held up by a few Chunin of Suna who were supposed to be giving us escort into the village..." He smirked, "We took care of them."

Orochimaru nodded, "Very well...Jiroubou, Kidoumaru, Sakon, Kimimaru, raise the barrier before we have any further interference..."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!" replied the four boys. They quickly went through hand seals at a pace that could only be done through rigorous training and repetition.

"_**Shishi Enjin**_!" the four shouted, and a violet barrier rose up around the perimeter of the roof. They then went through a few more seals and created a secondary wall to cover the inside area, encasing them safely inside this odd barrier.

Not a moment later, four ANBU jumped up to the roof, having eliminated the last of the Otogakure forces in the stadium, "Hokage-sama!"

Hizuren Sarutobi held up a hand, and the shinobi stopped, "Don't touch that wall!"

The captain of the squad nodded, and picked up a piece of broken tiling from the roof. He threw it at the barrier, and cursed as it burst into flames, "Damn it...the Hokage is on his own inside-hold on..." The masked ninja looked at a young Suna-nin that had been fighting earlier in the Finals, "Why is that Genin in there?"

Another one of the ANBU took a closer look, and noticed the boy no longer had his cloth wrapped around his face, "Hold on...taichou...isn't that Hatake's missing student...that Uzumaki boy?"

The ANBU captain was quiet for a moment, and took a knee as he nodded, "You're right...the Jinchuuriki boy is alive..." He looked to his three subordinates, and then sighed, "I guess that would explain that random outburst of chakra he had during his fight with the Hyuuga boy..."

"He's still just a Genin...he _won't _last in there..."

The captain shook his head, "I don't think the boy is worried about that...he's fighting to help the Hokage..." though it couldn't be seen, the ANBU squad captain smiled, "It's good to see that he's still a loyal Leaf ninja..."

The four men all knelt on the roof, watching the battle that was about to unfold.

1515151515

Orochimaru smiled wickedly as he threw off his Kazekage robes, "Well, well...I must say, I never expected to encounter _you_, Naruto-kun..."

"You bastard! Who do you think you are?!" He took a step forward, but the Third held his arm out in front of Naruto, "Hey, what's wrong, Old Man?"

The Sarutobi looked to his side at the blond, "Naruto...as good as it is of you to want to help...Orochimaru is much too powerful for you to fight head to head. Stay back, and only help when you are _sure_ you have an opening, understood?"

Naruto nodded, seeing the seriousness in the elderly man's eyes. With a quick movement, the Sandaime threw off his robe and hat, revealing his pure black shinobi attire and battle-helm of sorts. Naruto noticed the leaf hitai-ite adorned on the front of his head covering. Naruto suddenly remembered something. He dug into a pocket deep within his tan vest, and pulled out of it his old Konoha forehead protector.

_'I'm still a Leaf-nin...even if I fight for Suna too now...I won't let either of my homes be taken by this bastard Orochimaru...'_ Naruto thought, tying his Leaf hitai-ite around his left bicep.

The Third didn't let this go unnoticed. He smiled a bit, and spoke, "Naruto...I always had a feeling I'd see you again before I got too old...though I wish you weren't in such a predicament with me, I know that you carry the Will of Fire in you still...that's why you won't back down..."

Naruto grinned, and turned to Orochimaru, who was holding a sword of sorts, "You're going down, scale-face!" Naruto then noted Orochimaru had no scales at all on his skin. He din't mention that though...

"Kukuku...my, such bold words for a greenhorn shinobi." He chuckled a bit more before letting his sword hang at a relaxed grip by his side, "Naruto...tell me...have you actually _killed_ anyone before?"

Naruto said nothing, unable to retort to that question.

"Enough fooling around, Orochimaru! I'm fed up with you and your pointless ambition!" He made a few seals while throwing a single shuriken, "_**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_!" The single projectile burst into multiple copies, all of them heading towards the Snake Sannin, promising pain should they hit.

Orochimaru clapped his palms together, and with a burst of chakra, stopped them in their path...

...that is until a certain blond decided some reinforcement in the shurikens' flight pattern was necessary.

"_**Fuuton: Reppushou**_!"

The shuriken, which were still lingering in the air, suddenly began flying at the Snake Sannin again. A couple of stray shuriken nicked him as he jumped into the air. He could actually see blood trailing down his arm...

"That damn Kyuubi-brat..." cursed the Sannin. He knew full well just what the boy was capable of if he was pushed far enough, "I better put the odds in my favor before things get too out of hand..." He smirked as he went through a series of seals while the Third and Naruto stood at a far distance from the serpentine man.

"Naruto...be on your guard..." the Hokage warned while Naruto stood behind, watching as Orochimaru's strange jutsu began to unfold before them. As two caskets rose from seemingly out of nowhere, the Sandaime took one look at the symbols on each of the caskets and his eyes widened, "No...he couldn't possibly have brought _those two_ back..."

Naruto said nothing, but from the look on the face of the man that he had always seen as a calm and collected individual, he knew something bad was happening...

1515151515

Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, and Kurenai had managed to reach the main battle at the gates. Thanks in part to Suna, the casualties were less than they might have been...that is...until Iwagakure decided to show up.

He knew all to well that while his sensei was loathed to this very day by the Hidden Rock, the masked Jounin had managed to create his own reputation as well with the Rock-nin. That made him a big time target in the Iwa Bingo Book no doubt...

A Jounin that looked like he had just been promoted a month ago ran up to the group of instructors, "Thank goodness you four are here! We've managed to hold Iwa at a stand still at the western half, but I think they're going to try and flank us from the south! We've got a group formed of Suna and Konoha ninja to try and cut them off, but..."

Asuma thought it over a moment before nodding, "I'll take the group to meet up with them for an ambush..." He gave Kurenai a glance that seemed to speak something silently between the two, and ran off to meet up with the group after receiving directions from the Jounin.

Gai went to take on the main forces; being a close range fighter made it only logical for him to do so. Kurenai headed off shortly after to set up a Genjutsu trap with a team of specialists. Kakashi was soon standing by himself, pockets in hands as he watched smoke billow into the air.

He let out a sigh, "Well...this is wonderful..." He shook his head a little before running off to help Gai. Kakash took another look at the purple barrier where Naruto was, "...be strong, Naruto..." Kakashi whispered, and continued onward to confront the enemy.

**End of Chapter Fifteen: Yo, finally put this chapter up! I apologize for the huge delay, college and having a minor case of writer's block do that to me sometimes, heh. Well, I have to admit the amount of time I put into thinking this chapter through was much longer than the previous ones, but I can assure that there will be more. I did a bit of digging for information; I even found out the Third's true name, which was quite surprising to hear. Some of you may be wondering where Tayuya is; don't worry, that will be revealed later. I know some of you thought I gave up on Existence or forgot about it, and I'll tell you that I don't plan on giving up on this one anytime soon. I have a general idea where to go with my story here, and I just need time. Anyway, I hope those of you that read fifteen here enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Let me know what you think, and I'll be back with more hopefully sooner than previous chapters! Thanks again!**

**_Fuuton: Kiritori Kazehigyou no Jutsu_-** **_(Wind Release: Severing Wind Strike Technique)-_** **_(_**_Mine_**_)-_ **This wind based ninjutsu was the very first _Fuuton_ technique learned by Naruto when he first arrived to Suna. The user makes the proper hand seals, concentrates chakra around his hands, and adds his wind element to increase speed. Unlike the **_Kazebakufuu no Jutsu_**, this technique requires more focus to initiate. After the wind has gained enough speed around the user's hands, it is released in a razor sharp wind-blade form. The attack itself has a limited range, but it's speed and sharpness make it ideal for attacking opponents from close to mid-range battle.

_**Kaiten- (Heavenly Spin)-**__ (Original Series)__**- **_The _**Hakkeshou Kaiten**_, or _Eight Divinations Palms of the Hand, Heavenly Spin_, is a technique unique to the Hyuuga bloodline. While using the Byakugan to have vision of almost 360 degrees, the user will spin around at a fast pace while releasing a large amount of chakra to nullify the attack.

_**Hakke Rokujuuyonshou- (Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-four Palms of the Hand)- **__(Original Series)__**- **_This taijutsu is another one unique to the Hyuuga. This technique, like the _**Kaiten**_, is passed down from the Main Family of the Hyuuga. When the opponent is within the range of the user's attack, they can begin their assault quickly. Using the Byakugan to see their opponent's chakra coils and tenketsu points. The user will cause chakra to flow out of their hands, hitting their opponent a total of 126 times, forceably closing up 64 tenketsu points in their enemy's body. This will then limit the opponent's ability to use jutsu and chakra.

_**Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu- (Wind Release: Wind Blast Technique)-**_ _(Mine)_ Is currently Naruto's most powerful wind technique. Simpy put, this attak is a wind based move where Naruto unleashes a high speed wind from his palms to blast away opponents. The technique has a wide range of attack, unlike the _**Kiritori Kazehigyou no Jutsu**_.

_**Kamaitachi- (Cutting Whirlwind Technique)-**_ (_Oringinal Series_)_**-**_ A technique developed by Temari that involves her using her fan to create a powerful wind that raises the opponent into the air with chakra, forming a tornado around the victim. As the target is kept in the air, sickling winds begin to cut at the opponent.

_**Kaze no Yaiba- (Sword of Wind)- **__(Original Series)__**- **_A technique where the user forms the needed handseal, and then has a whirlwind envelope the opponent. Unlike an actual sword, this technique cannot meet resistance from another weapon, allowing the jutsu to cut the user to pieces.

_**Kage Mane no Jutsu- (Shadow Imitation Technique)- **__(Original _Series)_**-**_ A technique developed by the Nara clan that involves manipulating the users shadow with chakra. This shadow can further its reach by connecting with other shadows, however, the range of the move is limited by the surface area of the original shadow that was cast. Once the shadow reaches the opponents target shadow, the enemy is frozen in place, and limited to copying the moves of the shadow user, in this case Shikamaru, and speaking and looking around with their eyes. However, if the user's chakra is low, the move will begin to fail, and return to its caster.

_**Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu- (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)-**__(Original Series)__**- **_A ninjutsu that uses the Earth element. The user travels underground, and grabs hold of the enemies feet. Surprising the foe, they yank them underground, thus immobilizing them.

_**Katon: Karyuudan- (Fire Dragon Projectile)- **__(Original Series)__**- **_A fire element ninjutsu used in conjunction with the _**Doryuudan (Earth Dragon Projectile) **_technique. The user creates projectiles of mud, and then using the fire of the _Katon_ technique, ignites the mud projectiles to attack the target.

_**Shishi Enjin- (Four Violet Flames Battle Formation)- **__(Original Series)__**- **_A ninjutsu field technique utilized by the Orochimaru's personally trained shinobi, the Sound Four, although the members using this technique were altered a bit. This technique is made when four people do the necessary handseals and raise up a barrier that cannot be touched without having the attacker get burned. The only way it can be destroyed is from the inside, so to prevent harm while inside the barrier, the barrier makers create a second wall around themselves on the inside, effectively protecting themselves from any harm both on the outside and inside of the wall while trapping their victim inside the rectangular box of purple flames.

_**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu- (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)- **__(Original Series)__**-**_ A ninjutsu technique where the user is able to create numerous physical copies of a single shuriken.

_**Fuuton: Reppushou- (Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm)- **__(Original Series)__**- **_A wind technique that allows the user to shoot a powerful gust of wind toward their target. When used in conjunction with another thrown weapon, this technique can increase the deadliness of the projectile thrown.


	16. The Leaf in the Ashes Part Two

**Disclaimer: Hey everyone, guess what?! I own Nar- (sound of kunai flying through the air is heard before the sound of steel puncturing flesh is heard)**

Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, not Denim88

**Chap. 16: The Leaf in the Ashes- Part Two**

"Keep moving in an orderly fashion. We'll protect you with our lives if needed, just please remain calm."

Iruka ushered the children through the halls of the Academy as explosions were heard in the distance. Although he was calm on the outside, he was feeling uneasy as hell on the inside. The invading forces had already breached the walls, and were now heading their way.

Iruka noted that almost three-fourths of the student populous still hadn't entered the underground entryways. At the rate they were going, the enemy would be on them in no time.

"Iruka!"

The Chunin looked to see Anko heading towards him, "Anko? What's wrong?"

"It's the invading forces, apparently it's not just Oto that's attacking." Anko spoke in a hushed tone, so as to not worry the kids.

"_What_?" Iruka hissed, "Are you serious?"

"Yes...we've had visual confirmation from several of the Jounin on the battlefield..."

Iwagakure. This attack just got a whole lot worse, "We need to get these students out of here...the Academy is a major target for attack."

Anko nodded, saying nothing further as she headed down the hall to help usher the other students down to one of the other secret passageways.

The explosions continued to go off, getting closer and closer with ever passing minute.

1616161616

"Jii-san...is this a Genjutsu?"

Sarutobi shook his head, but said nothing else as the two caskets before him stood in front of Orochimaru.

"Tell me, Sarutobi-_sensei_, how would you feel to see some old friends of yours, hm?"

"You truly have no shame, Orochimaru. Bringing the dead back from their rest..." Sarutobi spat, glaring as his former student, "It was a true mistake on my part to let you live all those years back."

Orochimaru merely smiled in his usual sadistic manner as the caskets stood before him. Sarutobi closed his eyes, and clapped his hands into a seal. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What do you plan to do?"

Sarutobi let out a yell as he released a wave of chakra, and much to the surprise of the Snake Sannin, the two caskets began to _sink_ back into the dark portals where Orochimaru had summoned them from.

"Not this time, Orochimaru." the Third spoke as he stood straight, "That disgusting jutsu of yours won't be used on such noble men. Not today, and not ever again."

Orochimaru, however, seemed to laugh as Sarutobi suddenly noticed a very large detail that was left untouched when he sent the two caskets back.

There was a _third_ casket that had been standing behind the casket labeled 'one'. Sarutobi felt his blood go cold as he watched the casket creak open, "No. Not him, how could he have...?"

Naruto was a bit confused, "Hey, Jii-san, what's wrong? What's with this coffin?"

Sarutobi watched as the door to the coffin fell with a loud thud. The old ninja gave Naruto an apologetic look, "I'm so sorry, Naruto."

There before them stood the man who was debated to be the greatest ninja to have ever been raised in Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi went into a ready stance, and couldn't help but feel he had betrayed the young man before him all those years ago by having Naruto here

The figure blinked before noticing the other shinobi, "Sarutobi? It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Sarutobi glared at Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, you fiend! To have tried to summon those two was one thing, but him too?! This is unforgivable!!"

Orochimaru laughed while walking over to the ashen-looking figure that had come out of the coffin, "I thought it'd be wonderful chance for a nice family reunion, don't you?"

Naruto felt his jaw go slack, "Jii-san, is that the Fourth Hokage?"

"Yes. Naruto, I need you to be on your guard at _all times_, is that understood?"

Naruto gave a quick nod, "You got it, Jii-san."

The blond haired man by Orochimaru turned to the youngest of the shinobi. Whisker marks. Blond hair. Blue eyes. He shook his heas as his eyes widened, "N-Naruto?" He turned to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, you sadistic bastard. You're going to force me to fight my own flesh and blood?"

Orochimaru laughed, "Hm, I suppose I could. I was originally going to have you go for the old decrepit worm over there, but I suppose the demon-fox brat is a good idea. Give you a chance to catch up with your son, don't you think?"

Naruto was feeling his body shake a bit, his knees quaking as he heard the exchange, "Wh-what does he mean, Jii-san? Son? The Yondaime had children?"

Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a ragged breath, "Naruto, this is a _horrible_ time to tell you, but that man before us is your father..."

Naruto felt his head start spinning, and he had to fall on one knee, "What?! The Fourth was my _father_?!"

Orochimaru laughed as he stuck a kunai with a spell tag on the end of the handle into head of Minato. It sunk in, and color started to return to Minato's dull and ash-colored body, "I was amazed when some of my spies found out about the missing Jinchuuriki of Konoha ending up in Suna. I decided to look a bit into the boy, and low and behold, I managed to make a few connections after getting some inside help. I was suspicious; the resemblance between the two is uncanny, afterall." He took a few steps back, "Now, Minato, why don't you go have some father and son bonding time with little Naruto-kun?"

Minato, despite his reluctant scowl, was moving into a stance, "Orochimaru, this day will be one you'll live to regret."

"I'm sure, Minato. I'm sure..." He clapped his hands into a seal, "Attack!"

Minato was gone in an instant. Sarutobi's eyes went wide and he whipped out a kunai just in time to block Minato's very own kunai from stabbing Naruto in the neck, "Naruto move!"

Minato turned to look at Sarutobi, and a small smile graced his face, "Sarutobi...thanks for watching my son, even now."

Sarutobi gave the blond ninja a nod before getting kicked back and watching as the blond man ran after Naruto. Standing up, Hiruzen was relieved to see Naruto evading. He'd have to believe in Naruto to survive long enough for the elderly ninja to eliminate Orochimaru before he helped the boy.

Orochimaru snickered in a sickly manner, and opened his maw to reveal a snake. The snake in turn opened its mouth, and Orochimaru pulled out a long blade.

"The Kusanagi. I see you want to go about this quickly, don't you?" Sarutobi bit his thumb, "I'll just have to even the odds, I suppose." Sarutobi went through several seals before slamming his hand on the tiled roof, "_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_!!"

A plume of smoke erupted by the elderly shinobi. As it cleared, large monkey stood before him with a Leaf hitai-ite around it's forehead, "Sarutobi?"

Hiruzen gave the large monkey a nod, "Enma, it seems that the past is finally catching up to me. I need your help."

Enma, the great monkey king, grunted as he turned to face Orochimaru, who was brandishing the infamous blade that supposedly could cut through anything, "I told you we should have killed him all those years back."

Ignoring his summoned companion's comment, Hiruzen instead gazed at his former student, "Orochimaru, you've been living on borrowed time. It's time to end this, once and for all."

"That's my line, you senile fool!"

"Enma, now!"

"Got it!"

The large monkey made a hand seal as the two simultaneously yelled out the technique, "_**Henge: Kongonyoi**_!"

Smoke erupted as Sarutobi held in his arms a battle staff of black color, the shining of hard metal evident as he spun it around with practiced ease, "It's been quite awhile since I've had to use this technique..."

Orochimaru gave his former teacher a predatory grin, "Well, I suggest that you enjoy this moment, sensei. You will not live to see another sunrise, I _promise_ you that!"

The two legendary shinobi clashed with each other, one wielding a blade rumored to cut through anything, and one an unbreakable staff of adamantine. This battle was already proving to be one that would not end well.

1616161616

"Kakashi, duck!"

The Copy-nin ducked as a kunai whizzed over his shoulder, hitting an Iwa-nin square in the face, causing the foreign nin to cry out in agony, "Thanks, Kurenai."

The Iwa-nin were much larger in numbers than expected, but this was Konoha; the Leaf had home field advantage.

Kakashi ripped his kunai through the throats of two other Iwa-nin before spinning around to deliver a crippling kick to the back of an Oto-nin, "Damn it, we can't hold them off like this forever!"

Gai, meanwhile, was having the time of his life as four shinobi of Iwa were sent careening over the walls of Konoha, "Yosh, don't worry, my eternal rival! We'll make it through this battle! Don't forget about Asuma and the others!"

Kakashi nodded, "Right. Gai, watch it!"

Gai turned around and instinctively smashed a fist into an enemy kunoichi's gut before grinning, "Thanks, Kakashi!"

Kurenai had cast a Genjutsu over herself, making her invisible to the enemy. She quickly moved behind a trio of Iwa-nin, and the sound of three kunai embedding themselves into the necks of human flesh could be heard.

"Incoming!!!" yelled a Chunin from Suna. Shinobi moved as a rock crashed down onto the battlefield, taking the life of two young Konoha Chunin and a Suna Jounin.

"We need to take out the Iwa-nin who are launching those boulders at us!" spoke a Jounin from Konoha as he threw a few shuriken towards the Oto-nin running through the gate.

Kakashi was quiet for a moment, then spoke, "I can take care of them. I'll need some help though."

Two ANBU, who had been engaging the enemy as well, nodded, "We'll help you get there, Hatake-san."

Kakashi gave a nod as well, "Right, let's move!" He turned to a few of the other shinobi, "Give us the cover we need to get out of the gates!"

Kakashi and the two ANBU dashed out from behind the building they were using for cover, and ran like mad as shuriken went flying from both sides. As enemy ninja tried to attack, projectiles off all sorts met them, killing them before they could reach the trio.

"There's the gate entrance, move!" Kakashi yelled, and the three blurred away as they ran at maximum speed.

They were soon out of the village wall, and hiding in the cover of the dense foliage surrounding Konoha, "Hatake-san...look."

Looking towards the direction one of the ANBU pointed in, he noted about seven Iwa-nin creating large boulders from the earth around them before hurling them over the edge with catapults of some sort. Kakashi made a thoughtful humming noise before holding up a hand, "Huh...and there's no support for them. Iwa was never big on defense, at least not during attacks in foreign territory."

The older shinobi made several signals with his raised hand, and the two ANBU nodded before dashing off in opposite directions. Kakashi soon disappeared as well.

Moments later, several cries of pain were heard, and the attacking Iwa-nin fell to the ground, dead. A moment later, several explosions went off as the catapults exploded from dozens of explosive tags placed on them.

The trio reappeared in a tree, and Kakashi nodded to the two, "Well done, you two. Inform the southern defenses that we've negated the main threat from the western gate."

"Right away, Hatake-san!" the both gave quick nods before disappearing in a whirl of leaves. Kakashi, meanwhile, ran back to join the battle with the others.

1616161616

"We should head down Naegi Road, it's one of the smaller streets, and an unlikely target for the enemy to go down if they're trying to hunt down targets." Sakura spoke as she gave a look to the second strategist of their sudden plan, "The road will then intersect with Ishiki Court Lane, which is the only road we can go down to the ANBU headquarters. There is a disadvantage though; the last couple of blocks of Ishiki are rather bare of any buildings, which will put us in plain sight, considering that the enemy is probably trying to attack the ANBU stronghold."

Shikamaru gave a sigh while he unfolded his hands from his usual thinking position, "Sakura, that idea can still work. We'll have to break into teams though."

Temari seemed to catch on, "One team to send the scroll to the ANBU, the other to serve as a diversion."

Shikamaru nodded, "It seems drastic, but we have very little options. The twelve of us should split into two groups. Six would seem like a logical number for a group of Genin to travel in during an invasion, especially since the majority are rookies. Twelve would likely draw suspicion."

The teams were split accordingly at that point. Shikamaru, was made leader of the diversion group, which consisted of Lee, Tenten, Shino, Ino, and Kankuro. The second group that would deliver the scroll consisted of Sakura, who surprisingly was elected leader, along with Sasuke who carried the scroll for the ANBU, Temari, Gaara, Kiba, and Chouji.

"Stay close to the buildings, and low if possible. The less attention your team draws, the better." Shikamaru finished, "We need to have a codeword when we meet at the Academy. Something to make sure we don't end up getting ambushed by enemies posing as us."

After deciding on a codeword that would be replied with another in turn, they prepared to part.

"We'll see you at the Academy." Sakura spoke as she adjusted her kunai pouch. They watched as Shikamaru's group took off off down the street towards Konoha.

Several seconds passed before they saw a few blurs trail after them. The group of Genin had to restrain themselves from attacking their friends' new pursuers. They were the diversion team...it was their role in this mission.

"Sakura, we need to go." Sasuke spoke. Sakura nodded before looking up at her team of five other shinobi.

"Right. Let's go; hopefully that was the only enemy group within the area." the pink haired kunoichi spoke.

1616161616

Naruto was breathing hard, feeling his muscles scream in protest as he jumped back in time to be merely grazed by the reanimated Yondaime's kunai, "You should adjust your footing."

Naruto raised gave Minato a confused look, "What?"

Minato smiled while spinning his kunai by the loophole handle, "You're mother would have taught you how to evade properly. She wasn't the strongest woman, but she was always good on the defensive."

Naruto had no time to react as his idol zipped behind him and kicked him in the small of the back. Luckily, Naruto managed to roll, minimizing the amount of pain he would have felt. He stood straight and raised a kunai as the Fourth meet his weapon with his own.

"You knew my mother?!" Naruto spoke, a myriad of emotions playing on my face, "What about my father?"

Minato smiled, sadness etched into his features, "Orochimaru and Sarutobi weren't lying, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head, finally letting all that had occurred since he entered this battle catch up to him, "Wait, you mean...when the Kyuubi attacked...?"

Minato sighed, "I hold nothing against you if you hate me. Any person would probably hate the man who sealed such a powerful demon inside of them."

Naruto felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, "Hate you?" Naruto ground his teeth together, "I can't hate you. I've always wanted to be like you were." Minato gave the faintest hint of surprise on his face, "You were my idol growing up, all the stories...and the way everyone spoke so highly of you. People _still_ think you're the greatest Hokage ever!!"

"Well, I never expected myself to be seen as the greatest Hokage of all time. I mean, the Shodaime could have probably mopped the floor with me ten times over without batting an eyelash." Minato chuckled, "I'm honored though, even though I probably don't deserve such praise, especially from the son who I placed such a burden on."

"Dad..." Naruto spoke the words, maybe for the first time in such a way. Not as a reference to a man's relation to one of his friends. Not as a word in a book or scroll.

He spoke it as a name. A title to a man that was part of a family he never knew.

Minato wanted to embrace his son that he never got to know. He wanted to make up for all the time he and Kushina never got to spend with him. He couldn't come any closer to his son unless he ram his blade into his son's gut though, "Naruto, please don't come any closer with your guard lowered. I consider it a miracle that I've been able to hold back. Don't risk it any further...please."

The younger of the two blonds wondered just how he was surviving this fight with the legendary Yellow Flash of Konoha. Maybe it was partly because the man he now was told was his father didn't _want_ to fight.

"I knew it. You're holding back against me, aren't you?"

Minato nodded, "The jutsu is only as effective as the victim's will is weak."

"How do I stop it from working?"

"Kill Orochimaru...or separate my soul from this shell. This body is not like that of normal human flesh, Naruto."

Gritting his teeth, Naruto held back frustrated sob, "K-kill you? I...I can't..."

"Then killing Orochimaru is the only other option...after you somehow get past me." Minato pulled out a rather unique kunai with two prongs on either side of the main blade, "The only way you will be able to get past me, Naruto, is to defeat me."

Naruto cried silently, "I'm sorry, Dad." Naruto created a miniature windstorm in his left hand while brandishing his kunai in his right.

"Me too, Naruto."

1616161616

Kankuro chanced a brief glance behind him before speaking, "We've got company."

Shikamaru dropped back to speak with Shino, "Can you stall them at all?"

"I'm already on it."

Meanwhile, about ten or so Oto-nin were trailing behind the six Genin. They were merely waiting to strike, knowing that surely this group was going to a safety point where other Konoha citizens, civilian and shinobi, were surely hiding. This was too easy.

Now if only these damn bugs would stop bothering their eyes...

"Gaaaah!!!"

The other Oto-nin turned to see one of their comrades covered by hundreds of the blasted insects. Moments later, the bugs flew off the downed shinobi, who appeared unconscious. The other shinobi were perhaps perturbed the most by how the strange beetles were flying as a single unit, hovering before the group of shinobi. Like they were actually planning on their next move.

The Genin tried to ignore the screams from the enemy, though they were once again glad that the Aburame boy was part of their team, "My insects have taken care of the enemy. Their chakra has been depleted, so they will not longer be a threat to us."

"Good to know." Kankuro commented as they saw the Academy in their sights. They stopped a few roofs short of the shinobi school.

Ino turned to her teammate, her voice just over a whisper, "What's up, Shikamaru?"

"It's quiet over there." the Nara boy replied to Ino, "Though it could very well be that no one is there, I also imagine it could be a trap for any shinobi going to investigate. I don't want to fall in a such a mess, it'd be a real pain."

Tenten took a look at the Academy before pointing at one of the windows, "There's a few paper bombs sealed on that window's surrounding frame. I can't tell from here, but they seem to be planted from the inside. Their proximity activated, so we can't go through there. My guess is that the Academy teachers set them up, and if my guess is right, the explosives are low explosive grade. Minimizes the amount of damage to the building."

Shikamaru gave a hum of understanding before looking to the group, "Okay, well, we'll split in teams of two. Shino and Kankuro, head over to the southern entrance, but don't go in unless you're positive it's safe. Lee, Tenten, take the main entrance. Tenten, seeing as you happen to be the most knowledgeable in traps here, you'll do best in the main entryway, which I'm sure is laid with traps. Ino, you and I will wait here for the others to arrive."

"Yes, we shall show the enemy what it truly means to work as a team, right Tenten?"

"Right, Lee, now just make sure to keep your voice down." replied the weapons expert.

The groups gave a quick nod before dashing off in different directions. Hopefully, Shikamaru thought, the fighting would be minimum here. He wasn't looking forward to another fight, seeing as he was _still_ tired from his fight with Temari.

"Troublesome women..."

"What's the matter, Shika?" Ino asked, not catching what he said.

"Nothing. Let's find a safe place to keep watch."

1616161616

Gaara lowered his hand as two unconscious Iwa-nin fell from being knocked out by his sand tendrils, "That's the last of them."

Kiba took a quick sniff, and nodded, "Yeah, looks like you got them all. The headquarters should be just..." Several explosions of smoke went off, and the Genin were soon surrounded, various weapons pointed at them.

The ANBU had moved in rather quickly, Sasuke thought, seeing as Kiba hadn't caught their scent.

"W-we're not the enemy!" Sakura said, "Kakashi Hatake sent us here with a scroll!"

The apparent captain put up a hand, and the other masked shinobi lowered their weapons a fraction, "My apologies. We've had a few enemies already try and disguise themselves as ANBU. What did Hatake-sempai wish to give us?"

Sasuke reached into his shuriken holster, and handed the captain the scroll. The captain read it over before sighing, "We were expecting this. We've got our orders then..." He nodded to one of his subordinates, a kunoichi in a monkey mask, "Begin Operation: Wing-Whisper."

The kunoichi nodded before pulling out a small whistle. She lifted her mask enough for her lips to be seen, and pressed the whistle to them. A high-pitched whistling note was made, and a small little kestrel appeared above them. It let out a trill cry before perching on the women's arm. She pulled out a scroll from one of her body-suit's pockets, and tied it to the ankle of the hawk before giving it a gentle scratch behind the neck. It then flitted off to at a high speed.

"What was that?"

The ANBU kunoichi turned to Temari, "Sora is one of our smallest messenger birds used in ANBU. He'll be in Fire Country's capital city by morning, since he'll make a quick stop to hunt and rest for the night."

Sakura sighed in relief, "Good. We have to meet up with the rest of our group at the Academy and provide any back up needed afterwards."

The captain nodded, "We'll escort you there. We need to head in to the main gate anyway, and it won't be too far out of our way."

Without another word, the group took off once again.

1616161616

"Kekeke, getting tired, Sarutobi-sensei?"

The Third gave a grim smile, "Don't let these gray hairs fool you, Orochimaru. I can still fight!"

Orochimaru sidestepped a joust from the metallic battle staff of Hiruzen's, and lunged at him with his blade. Sarutobi quickly spun the end closest to him to block the sword, and then using the leverage he gained, sent Orochimaru flying back. The Sannin landed gracefully, a serious look etched into his pale face.

"You old fool, why won't you give up? Konoha is doomed! I have the support of both my village and Iwagakure! The losses are already piling up on your end as well as Suna's!"

Sarutobi merely chuckled, "I see you've so quickly forgot all that I taught you about the bonds of Konoha, Orochimaru. The bond between ninja of the Hidden Leaf is that of the Will of Fire, one that cannot be broken by merely attacking us!" Explosions rattled off in the south, and Sarutobi watched as a fairly large toad appeared out of thin air, "As long as one shinobi remains, Konoha will live on!"

Orochimaru moved with speed defiant of his age, and was soon up in his sensei's face. Sarutobi kicked at the Sannin while the snake-like ninja hopped to his left. He lifted his blade to jab it at Sarutobi's shoulder, but the Third managed to move to his right in time to avoid the blow. Taking the opportunity Orochimaru had opened to him, Sarutobi delivered four successful blows to the Sannin's chest before giving a rising swipe, sending Orochimaru careening into the air.

The Sannin landed on his feet, and coughed a bit as he spit up blood. He glared daggers at his former teacher, as he stood, appearing relatively unharmed, "Even with the odds clearly against you, you still remain in denial of defeat!" Orochimaru raised his blade, "Die!!!"

Sarutobi braced himself as the blade aimed towards his chest. He sidestepped the first strike, slammed the end of Enma's metal form into Orochimaru's chest, and watched with only a slight bit of surprise as it shattered into dirt, "A clone of mud. As expected of you, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru cackled softly as he resurfaced from underneath the tiling, and held his blade at ready, "You seem as though you were aware of that little imitation of mine this whole time. Shame on you, sensei. You were holding back on me."

The Third spun around and extended Enma's length in attempt to take out Orochimaru's head. The Sannin, instead of ducking, stretched neck out like he had times before, and opened his mouth. Kusanagi appeared from his mouth, the leader of Otogakure intent on plunging it into the head of the Third.

Sarutobi waited until the last possible second, and rammed the end of Enma to meet the blade's point.

"Gah, watch it, Sarutobi! That one actually hurt!" spoke Enma as an eye appeared on the pole, "I only capable of taking so much from that sword of his!"

Orochimaru let out a gurgled sound before he retracted the sword into his mouth again. He pulled his head back to his shoulders, "I can see that this is starting to wear down on you, isn't it?"

Hiruzen couldn't help but feel exhausted as he felt beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead. The man was experienced, yes, but age hadn't been completely merciful on him.

The cry of Naruto was heard, and Hiruzen watched as Naruto went flying towards the two older ninja. He hopped up, and looked to the Third, "Heh heh...that's my father over there."

Hiruzen was a bit shocked to see that Naruto was speaking in a tone that sounded of admiration and even...joy?

"Naruto, you're badly injured!" Sarutobi said, now taking notice of the various wounds on his body. They were from kunai...

"Yeah, Dad's _**Hiraishin no Jutsu**_. It caught me by surprise." Naruto wasn't really paying attention to the various wounds and bleeding, looking to his father, "Jii-san, despite everything going on, I feel happy. My dad was the man that I always wanted to become."

Sarutobi gave him a grim smile. He looked to Orochimaru, and his expression turned to one of horror, "Naruto!!!"

Orochimaru was mere feet away from the blond, the deadly Kusanagi about to plunge into Naruto's heart. Sarutobi barely had time to react, and used a quick _**Kawarimi**_. Next thing Naruto knew, he was facing Sarutobi as the old ninja coughed.

"J-Jii-san!!!" Naruto said, immediately noticing the blood running down his grandfather figure's chin from his mouth, "No!!! Jii-san!!!"

Orochimaru laughed, "Oh, sensei. You foolishly go and throw your life away to protect the Jinchuuriki-filth? Amusing to no end, really!" He laughed a bit more, pulling out his blade, raising it for the finishing blow, "Goodbye, sensei!"

Naruto watched in horror as the lethal blade moved. Naruto felt as though everything had slowed down. He suddenly felt it.

_'I can't let this happen!'_

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed in a sadistic way as he grinned. This would be the finishing blow to Konoha, and the end to any obstacles he had towards his own ambition!

_'I'll end this _myself_!! Now!!!'_

_Splurch!!!!_

Orochimaru looked at his blade as it was blocked by the blond shinobi's own arm. It was, surprisingly, only barely piercing the flesh beyond the muscle. It _should_ have gone straight through and punctured the boy in the chest.

There was the small fact that Naruto's eyes were crimson now, and an aura of orange and red was flaring up around him, "I'm going to make you pay for that, _**Orochimaru**_!!!!"

The Sannin leaped back as a clawed hand slashed at him. He sneered at the boy, "That's it, Naruto-kun. Make this fight interesting for me. Your ancient excuse of a leader has failed to do so."

Naruto roared as a single tail began to form behind him, waving like mad, "You _**bastard**_...what makes you think you can just waltz into our home and _**attack **_us?! You did it once with the Kazekage, and now Jii-san?! I won't allow anymore of it!!! _**No more!!!!**_"

A heavy weight settled upon the area, and even the ANBU behind the barrier were feeling the pressure, "C-captain...that's..."

The leader of the ANBU squad nodded, "Yes, the boy's unleashing the Kyuubi's chakra. It's a bit ironic, if you think about it. With the Yondaime here, and now the boy unleashing the fox's power..."

The other ANBU nodded, trying not to let the tainted power creep them out too much. Orochimaru's own sickening chakra was enough to give them an unsettling feeling.

1616161616

Minato watched, having noted that the power driving him to attack had lessened even more. He instead watched, motionless as his son released the power that the man had expected for him to use someday.

_'Naruto, you've already proven yourself to be the son I had hoped you would be.'_ Minato would have cried a bit had he the ability to. Unfortunately, Orochimaru had created a mere shell, no organs, let alone tear ducts, for Minato. The fact that he had to have a sacrifice for this technique was enough to make Minato feel sick to his non-existent stomach.

When he saw Sarutobi take the Sannin's sword to the chest, he cringed inwardly. He had failed yet again. This time, he let the man that had given him the title of Hokage years ago take a blow for his son.

_'That should have been me.'_ Minato thought. Then again, if Minato had been truly alive, Orochimaru may be dead by now.

He returned to his son, who was now sending out a claw of raw chakra to the Sannin. There was definitely a malign feel to it. Still...

Naruto was using this horrid power for a cause that was anything but malign. He was using it to protect the Hokage, to defend his home.

During their fight, well, it wasn't much of a fight, considering Minato had received next to nothing as far as injury, he had asked Naruto why he was sporting both a hitai-ite of Konoha and Suna. Naruto merely said that it was a long story for later.

Minato smirked. Later...

His son spoke as though they'd be able to talk after his was over. No, no matter what, Orochimaru would not allow the dead Hokage to continue to exist. He would destroy this pseudo-body Minato was given to take form in, and Minato would cease to remain in this realm.

It had shocked him when he felt his soul be ripped from it's suffering within the gut of the Shinigami after what seemed like ages. How Orochimaru did it, Minato was unsure. Still, whatever the case, Minato, despite how much he wished to kill the pale and reptilian-like man, was thankful that he had been given the chance to see his son again.

Minato felt a wind billow his white and red jacket a bit, and he turned to see Naruto dodging various snakes that slithered out of Orochimaru's sleeves. Naruto blasted them away with a wind jutsu, and was soon dodging that horrid sword of the Sannin's again.

"Take this, you _**freak**_!" Naruto made a seal and four Shadow Clones appeared before rushing the Sannin. They all pulled out kunai as they neared the Sannin, who merely watched with a sinister grin on his face.

The first clone dived at Orochimaru, and roared in fury as it tried to plunge it's kunai into the Sannin's skull. Orochimaru easily countered by impaling the clone, but was a bit confused to see that the clone didn't vanish, instead gripping the sword tightly.

"What? Impossible, a Shadow Clone is suppose to vanish after it's been attacked unless..." the Sannin's eyes widened, "...you couldn't possibly...?"

The original Naruto made another seal as the other three clones ran at the Otogakure leader, "Nice knowing you, Orochimaru! _**Bunshin Bakuha**_!!!"

A massive explosion shook the roof as the four clones erupted in a chakra empowered burst. Naruto blocked his face from the debris and dirt, and looked to see the burnt spot where the Sannin ha been.

"Kekeke, I _am_ impressed, Naruto-kun. You really are an interesting prey indeed." spoke the familiar voice of the Sannin as he resurfaced from the tiling, having found cover with his earth style techniques, "It's not enough though, I'm afraid."

Naruto found himself wearing down. The fox's chakra, despite giving him immense power, was starting to take effect. He couldn't keep fighting at this rate. First Neji earlier today, which had _forced_ the blond to call the demon fox's power. Then the fight with his father, which had begun taking it's toll on him. The fox's power was beginning to weaken Naruto at a steady rate.

"I see that you're still able to tire, Naruto-kun. That's good..." spoke the Sannin, "...then you probably are able to bleed as well!"

_Schluck!!!_

Naruto looked to see steel embedded into his skin, just narrowly missing his heart. Naruto had, by some small chance, managed to move down so that the blade pierced just above and to the right of his vital organ that pumped blood throughout his body. That didn't mean he was fine though. Naruto was a bit surprised to see that it hadn't gone deeper though. He probably had the fox's chakra to thank for that.

Naruto let out a cry of pain, finally feeling the pain rack through his body. Sarutobi, who was doing worse, let out a gasp as he watched the boy he had come to see as a second grandson, scream in agony. The Sannin had yet to remove the blade, instead making small twisting motions with the blade while Naruto's body desperately tried to heal itself.

"Orochimaru, you monster! Stop!" Sarutobi yelled, forcing himself to stand, though barely. He gripped his staff again, though using it for support more than anything else.

Orochimaru turned to the injured Hokae, and his grin grew wider. He pulled the blade out rather forcefully, causing Naruto to cry out further as he fell to the ground, blood pooling around him as he tried to recover. The Kyuubi's aura began to gather over his chest as he rolled onto his back, the bijuu's demonic power mending bone and flesh together as Naruto felt his body slowly succumbing to blood loss and fatigue.

Minato suddenly felt something suddenly snap in him. Watching his son being attacked by one of Konoha's greatest threats caused a part of him to suddenly break free of the trance-like command over his body. He unsnapped the pouch where he held his special kunai, and pulled out every last one of them.

_'Naruto, Sarutobi...I failed you both once. I _will _not fail you again.'_

Orochimaru spun Kusanagi around once, enjoying the moment of watching the Jinchuuriki boy and his former sensei both were on the brink of defeat. It was a moment like this that drove him to raise Otogakure. For power, and being able to crush those who opposed him. He pointed his blade at Sarutobi, grinning with a touch of maniacal joy in his appearance, "Now, Sarutobi-_sensei_. I will end this!"

Before was able to move though, Orochimaru felt a sharp pain in his back. He growled as the sound of steel embedding into flesh could be heard, and he turned down to see both his ankles had pronged kunai in them. He looked to see Minato holding several more of his infamous kunai in hand, "What? What is the meaning of this?!"

Minato wasted no time, throwing several more of his kunai around the Sannin, sticking them into the roof and Orochimaru's body.

"Orochimaru, you were a fool to think that you could force me to do your sadistic bidding, especially to my own son." Minato's gaze could have cut diamonds, "_I_ will end this..."

Before Orochimaru could blink, he felt his body being ripped apart as Minato blipped away in a flash of golden light. Minato appeared in front of Orochimaru, gripping one of his pronged kunai that had been stuck in the roof tiles. He disappeared again, and Orochimaru felt his arm drop his sword as Minato tore a tendon in his wrist.

Orochimaru was bleeding profusely as Minato stood before him, his palm opened fully as a blue, swirling vortex formed, "When I kill you, Orochimaru, I too will be destroyed in the process. I have no regrets though. You gave me a chance to see my son, and I thank you for that."

Orochimaru watched in horror as a full-fledged _**Rasengan**_ began to spin in the blond man's hand, "You think you can kill me?! Fool! I brought you to this world, and I will dispose of you just as easily!"

Orochimaru raised his still functioning hand as Minato ran at him, his spiraling vortex of chakra ready to destroy his innards in a rather unpleasant fashion. The Sannin released a wave of chakra, and Minato felt himself begin to stiffen in the limbs. He blinked as his body began to lose it's color, and crumble. To make matters worse, the _**Rasengan**_ vanished into thin air.

No. He couldn't fail here! Not yet!

There was one last chance to prevent Orochimaru from continuing further with his ambitions. It may not kill him, but he'd at least put a major dent in the Sannin's power. Minato used his remaining leg power to launch at the weakened Sannin, and whipped through a series of seals faster than even Sasuke or Kakashi could hope to catch on a first glance with the Sharingan. His hands glowed blue, and he gripped either of Orochimaru's shoulders. Orochimaru felt a horrid pain run down his arms. He howled as his arms went numb before they began to burn from the inside.

"Seal!" Minato cried, and Orochimaru howled in pain as his arms began to literally disintegrate, leaving nothing but ash.

"Graaaagggh!!!!! My _arms_!!!! _What have you done to my arms?!?!?!!_" Orochimaru roared as his arms turned to ash before blowing away in the wind.

Minato laughed as his body fell to the ground, "I've sealed away the chakra coils in your arms, and then destroyed the very limbs afterwards. No jutsu can save you from this, Orochimaru. You will no longer be able to use your arms, and ninjutsu will be forever out of your reach. That's also including genjutsu, and you can forget about any taijutsu with them either."

Orochimaru felt his anger boil over as he kicked the limp and weakening body of Minato, "You damned fool! How could you?! Do you realize what you've done?!!!"

Minato snickered, "Yeah, I know what I've done, but telling you wouldn't be a good idea. After all, after I leave here again, there will be no one who can revert you back. Actually," Minato took in a deep breath as he gave another chuckle, "...I don't think there _is_ a way to reverse that technique, heheh."

Orochimaru looked to see Sarutobi slowly going into a stance with his battle staff, clearly injured, but now having an upper hand. Not to mention that Naruto was standing as well, building power for a wind jutsu.

Orochimaru hated to admit it, but this was now hopeless for him, not to mention even more ANBU were arriving now. He turned to his four bodyguards, and yelled, "We're retreating!"

Sakon, Jiroubou, Kidoumaru, and Kimimaru all canceled their hold on the barrier, and quickly ran to their master's side. Jiroubou picked Orochimaru up by one side, and Kidoumaru took the other side before they jumped off. Kimimaru and Sakon held back the ANBU that sprung immediately for a brief amount of time before running off.

"Squad A, follow them! Squad B, get me a EMC squad _now_!" yelled an ANBU captain that had just arrived before running to meet the Third. His fellow ANBU ran off to do as they were asked as he helped the Third sit, "Hokage-sama, please try not to move. We have a medical team coming to meet you as I speak."

Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed up a bit more blood before shaking his head, "That won't be necessary, Tenzou."

The ANBU captain was a bit shocked before he continued, "Hokage-sama, you're in grave condition. We need to heal you before the wounds become too severe."

"Stop worrying about the old man so much, and go check on the young boy who helped protect our village."

The ANBU captain sighed before turning to the blond boy. He looked to one of his remaining men, and told him to stay by the Third while he went to Naruto.

Tenzou found it a bit ironic that _he_ of all people was now facing Naruto. After all, being the genetic heir to the Shodaime gave him certain abilities involved with Jinchuuriki.

"My dad."

Tenzou looked to the boy for a brief moment, and then followed the blond's gaze to the slowly decaying body of the Fourth Hokage, "Of course."

Tenzou helped Naruto up, and walked him over to the Fourth, who's color was beginning to dull, the 'life' no longer evident in his appearance.

Minato let a small smile cross his face as he saw his son, who was now free of the Kyuubi's influential features, "Naruto, I'm proud of you."

Naruto let tears fall from his eyes, "Dad, how did you-?"

"It's as I said, Naruto. The Will of Fire is something that bonds all shinobi of Konoha." spoke the wheezing voice of Sarutobi, who was coughing up a bit of blood, but sitting. Enma, meanwhile was standing off to the side, watching quietly. Sarutobi gave a weak smile to the Yondaime, "Minato, thank you."

Minato gave the elder Hokage a nod before looking to his son, "Naruto, I'm so sorry your first memorable meeting with me was like this." He felt Naruto's hand grasp his own, but only barely. He had little feeling in his arms, he just felt pressure. There was warmth too, he noted, "You fight just as fiercely as your mother did."

"My mom?"

The blond man gave a grin as he seemed to recall events from a time long ago, "Yes. Kushina is definitely your mother when I look at you. I see so much of her in the way you fight."

Naruto watched as his father gave out a cough, "Dad, I don't want you to go...please...don't..."

Minato raised his hand so that it was on Naruto's head, "Hey, none of that. I'm not leaving you. As much as I hate to admit it, Orochimaru did something good for once. He freed me from the Shinigami's stomach. I'll be free of imprisonment when I pass on again."

"Dad...did Mom...?"

Minato frowned sadly, "She too is dead. She suffered from illness that had been going on long before she was pregnant with you. She died hours after giving birth to you. Your very name was her idea, after the character in one of my teacher's books."

"Wait, teacher? You mean Ero-sennin?"

Minato raised an eyebrow, "Ero-sennin?" He suddenly seemed to catch on, "Ahahaha! You mean that you call Jiraiya that?" He laughed a bit more until he was coughing again, "Heheh, yes, Jiraiya the Toad Sage was my teacher and mentor."

Naruto grinned sadly, "He's been training me."

"I would hope so. He's your godfather after all." Minato added, causing Naruto to choke on air.

"W-what?!" Naruto felt sick all of the sudden. This was too much, "Dad, you mean he's my godfather, and..." Naruto felt tears prick his eyes, "I have family after all, huh?"

Minato nodded, "Don't be mad at him if you hardly know him, Naruto. How long _have_ you known him?"

"Several months, I guess. I actually met him once without even knowing who he was, although I had been using a henge."

Minato's strength began to fade, and his hand went limp, "What about Kakashi? You know him too?"

Naruto chuckled, "He was my Genin team leader."

Minato smiled, "Good." He paused as his smile began to disappear, "What do you mean by was, though?"

Naruto rubbed his hand over his left bicep where his Leaf hitai-ite was, "I...left Konoha a few months back, and ended up in Suna. They took me in as one of their own."

Minato seemed upset when he heard this, "What caused you to leave Konoha?"

Naruto put a hand over his stomach, "I didn't want the fox to hurt any of my precious people. We were on a mission, and I almost lost one of my teammates. The fox's power got loose when I got angry, and..." Naruto shook his head, "...I didn't want to have that happen to anyone I care for."

Minato could draw the lines to the dots from what his son said. He had lived alone, with few friends, maybe only Sarutobi and a few select people. He could tell that he was probably more lonely than actually hurt in any physical manner due to the bijuu, "I don't think I can ever apologize enough for what I burdened you with."

Naruto forced a smile on his face, "It's okay. It was either me being a Jinchuuriki, or the Kyuubi would have destroyed Konoha. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

Minato felt his pride for his son grow a bit more, "You really grew into a fine young man."

Naruto sensed his father's chakra fade, "Dad?"

Minato was again smiling, "Naruto, grow up strong. I can see that you'll only continue to improve." He forced his arms to move, and put a hand on his son's shoulder, "You've made me proud..."

Naruto felt his throat tighten again. He was having a harder time suppressing his tears, "I'll be the greatest shinobi ever, Dad. I promise you that."

"Heheh, that's my boy..." Minato's sight was going dim, clouding over with blackness around the edges of his vision, "Naruto, say 'Hello' to Jiraiya and Kakashi for me."

Naruto only nodded.

"Goodbye, Naruto. Stay true to your dreams, and never doubt yourself." Minato's chakra was soon no more, his sheer willpower keeping him in the plane of existence of mortals, "I love you...my son."

Naruto watched as Minato's body slowly broke apart, the shell of ash finally giving in to the wind. Minato let out one final breath. As if on cue, the wind blew his remains away in a strong gust, the echo of the Fourth's breath surrounding Naruto. The boy blinked away the tears as the wind blew around him, and he felt a feather-light pressure on his shoulders, causing his head to snap up. He looked, though no one was behind him, aside from the ANBU captain that had brought him over, and he was a good distance away from the blond still.

_"Live and grow up strong, Naruto. Your mother and I will be with you every step of the way, _that_ is our promise to you."_

Naruto finally gave in, and let out a sob, not even caring that the dead body of that Oto-Genin named Dosu was lying where his father's body had been. He had been for at least a half a day, or so it seemed. One of the other nasty requirements for Orochimaru's forbidden technique.

"Dad." Naruto spoke, standing up proud, his head held a little higher. He would shed no more tears until this attack on Konoha was over.

"Naruto..." spoke a familiar voice. Naruto looked over to see an injured Sarutobi still sitting with a medic tending to him, "...are you alright?"

Naruto felt relief wash over him, "Jii-san! You're okay!"

"Heheh, hardly the case, but thanks to your bold efforts, I'll live to see another day." Sarutobi winced a bit as the medic helped him onto a stretcher, "Naruto, I believe it would be best if you find a safe place to-"

"No, I'm going to help my friends now." Naruto spoke with finality, "They're fighting out there, I can't let them down."

Hiruzen smiled weakly, "I understand. Tenzou, you and your team head to the main gate and inform our forces that Orochimaru has retreated."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The ANBU gave a quick nod before he and his group dashed off to the main battle, "Naruto, I understand that you're a fast healer, but at least let one of the medic's help you with the major injuries before you set off again."

Naruto obliged and within five minutes was healed a little more thanks in part to the healing chakra of one of the medic ninja. Naruto flexed his arm that Orochimaru had stabbed, and grinned, "Alright, Jii-san! I'll make sure to clean out this place of the jerks that invaded us! Leave it to me!" Naruto crouched low for a brief moment before rocketing off the roof with a blast of wind. A few of the remaining ANBU and medics cried out in surprise. Sarutobi could only laugh in amusement.

_'You've grown up a bit more already, Naruto.'_

1616161616

Sasuke whipped through his the hand seals of his favored justu before taking in a deep breath, "_**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**_!!!"

Two Iwa-nin leaped above the flaming mass only to be met with the grinning face of Kiba and Akamaru who had henged into the Inuzuka boy, "Idiots, falling for a simple trick like that!"

The two ninja were sent crashing into the trees outside of the Academy. Kiba landed with Akamaru, who reverted to his canine state before barking triumphantly, "Nice move, Kiba."

The Inuzuka boy gave Sasuke a thumbs up, "Heh, thanks."

Sakura was in a dance of taijutsu with a kunoichi from Otogakure, matching the taller woman blow for blow, "You know, I could probably take this up a notch if I wanted," Sakura stated, "I'm just trying to conserve energy."

The enemy kunoichi let out a bark of laughter, "Go ahead and try me, brat."

Sakura gave a very unsettling smile, "My pleasure." Sakura flipped back, her hands landing on the ground while her legs whipped at the kunoichi. The woman grunted as Sakura's left leg hit her ulna rather hard. It was possible that it fractured. The woman tried to snap kick the kunoichi in the jaw, but Sakura only flipped back a second time before aiming her raised right heel and slamming it into the kunoichi's left shoulder. The Oto-kunoichi ignored the pain, and pulled out three shuriken to lob at the younger kunoichi.

Sakura could have been mistaken for dancing with how gracefully she was moving while the shuriken harmlessly flew past her. She landed on her left hand and both feet before grinning, "My turn."

Sakura covered the distance between them, and ducked under a kick before delivering an upper cut that would have made Gai proud. The kunoichi from Sound felt a resonating crack in her jaw before flying a few feet into the air and landing in an unconscious heap. Sakura let out an unlady-like battle cry of victory as she pumped her fist, "Damn, that felt _good_!!!"

The ANBU that had accompanied the Genin to the Academy couldn't help but feel a bit perturbed by the sight of the beautiful flower of a kunoichi literally drop the older Oto-nin in such a fashion.

Eventually Sakura's team, along with the ANBU, had cleared the Academy area of any enemies. Right before the headed to the building itself, they were stopped by six figures that Sakura immediately recognized.

"The two pillars stand between the two doors."

Sakura nodded to Shikamaru, "The monkey climbs the pillars while the port wind blows through the leaves."

Shikamaru nodded, "I think we should use that code more often."

The code was a simple one, in essence. It was a sort of reference to the names of the four Hokage that had served Konoha: Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Minato Namikaze.

The ANBU approached the other six Genin from Shikamaru's group, "Is the Academy secure?"

Tenten spoke, "There's several traps that we encountered, though they appeared to be made by the teachers before they left. We were able to bypass them, though I'm not entirely sure if they'll be needed any further. The enemy seems to be passing by this area now that the students are gone."

"Otogakure is retreating."

The group of shinobi turned to the voice, seeing a teenage girl with red hair standing at the far end of the Academy grounds. She appeared to be a civilian by the looks of her clothes. She wore a dull blue short-sleeved shirt with black pants that went to her knees, along with sandals. What bothered the ANBU was the fact that they had not sensed her, but chalked it up to the fact that she was a civilian, and probably couldn't mold chakra like a shinobi, "Shouldn't you be with the rest of the civilians that evacuated?"

The girl frowned, "I got caught in one of the explosions, and my family was killed. I...I have nowhere to go now."

The ANBU captain sighed, "Right. You said that Otogakure is in the midst of retreating?"

The girl gave a nervous nod, "Y-yeah. I was told so by an ANBU that had been at the sight where some blond kid and the Third Hokage were fighting Orochimaru."

"Are they okay?" Temari asked immediately upon hearing 'blond kid' and 'Orochimaru', "Is the blond alive?"

"Yeah, he was actually putting up a real fight too." the girl added.

The ANBU captain gave the girl a critical look behind his mask, "You should be lucky that you're alive out here. I suggest you get to the nearest evacuation point before it gets any worse out here."

The girl looked down, "I..." She nodded, "Okay then. I know where to go."

She took off at a sprint as one of the ANBU looked to the captain, "Huh. You think she was a shinobi with how calm she was."

The captain gave a nod, "Yeah. Well, we can't afford to waste anymore time." He turned to the group of Genin, "I assume you know where the meeting point is?"

Shikamaru gave a nod, "Southern market area. We can get there just fine with our group."

The ANBU captain nodded, "Right. We're going to the outer perimeter walls to see what we can do for reinforcements. Good luck to all of you." With a bang and a puff of smoke, the group of elite shinobi were gone.

Just as the Genin were about to set off, Shino held up a hand, "Someone's coming." His bugs buzzed around him, and he turned to Kiba and Akamaru. The two got a quick whiff of the air before the Inuzuka grinned.

"Heh, the idiot's here."

Two seconds later, a blond ninja with a mask covering his face landed from the sky it seemed. He turned to the Inuzuka and frowned, "Hey, dog-breath! Why don't you come say that to my face?!" The ninja gave Kiba a dramatic pointing finger before blinking, "Er..." He pulled off his mask, and everyone of the Konoha Rookies grew quiet.

"He really is alive..." Ino spoke, feeling a smile spread across her face as the others felt similar relief and joy.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Um, hey guys. I...suppose I have some explaining to-"

"Baka!!!"

Naruto turned just in time to see a giant fan smack into his face. He cried out as he rolled a good couple of yards before a very furious Suna-kunoichi hefted him up by the collar.

"T-Temari-chan! Hey, don't be angry! I'm alive, see?!" Naruto waved his hands around frantically as Temari had tears in her eyes.

Temari pulled the disheveled Jinchuuriki close to her before speaking softly, "I was worried about you! Damn it, don't _scare_ me like that!!!"

Naruto rubbed Temari's back softly before speaking, "I'm sorry, Temari-chan. I had to help the Hokage though. Not only that, but something wonderful happened to me when I fought Orochimaru."

"Wonderful? What?" Temari asked, curious as he gave her a sad smile.

He shook his head, "Later, Temari. After this battle is all done, I'll tell everyone about what happened...as well as a few other things I've been hiding."

Temari gave him a knowing look, looking into his eyes, "Naruto, you don't have to tell them about the Kyu-"

"I want to. They have a right to know. They're my friends." Naruto interrupted, giving her a soft smile.

The other Konoha Genin walked over to the duo of blonds and eyes on Naruto. They gave him mixed looks, from surprise to confusion, though Naruto could clearly see a sense of happiness among them.

"We thought we'd never see you again, Naruto." Ino said while giving him a cheery smile. Shikamaru mumbled something about 'troublesome' and 'friends' before nodding, along with Chouji.

Shino gave Naruto a faint nod while Kiba grinned, "Good to see you still kicking butt, idiot."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched slightly, "Glad to see you too, dog-breath." Akamaru gave Naruto a bark while wagging his tail, and the blond grinned while reaching over Kiba's head to pet him.

"How did you manage to defeat Orochimaru?" Kankuro asked, and the others gave similar curious nods.

"Long story. Jii-san...I mean the Hokage and I had some help."

Sasuke gave Naruto a nod, while Sakura smiled, happy to see one of her friends and teammates alive. The Uchiha looked over to the billowing smoke in the south, "We better get going and help them."

"Sasuke-kun is right! We cannot let our comrades fight alone! Gai-sensei would never approve of this! I will fight for him and Neji's absence!" Lee crowed while Tenten gave a sigh while shaking her head a bit, although a small smile was clearly evident.

The group jumped to the rooftops, heading off towards the fight at the southern wall, intent on getting to the battle as fast as possible.

"Naruto..."

The blond turned to see Gaara running alongside him, "Hey, Gaara! Dang, you're not even scratched! Not bad, heheheh!"

Gaara gave a nod before continuing, "I sensed your bijuu's power. Are you alright?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I had control this time. I'm just glad that I managed to save Jii-san before things got too bad."

Gaara looked ahead, his sand gourd's cork being pulled off as they neared the smoky battleground, "We'll be fine as long as we all stick together."

Naruto gave his friend and fellow Jinchuuriki a grin laced with confidence, "Damn straight! Let's do this!"

1616161616

Tayuya waited until she was sure she wasn't being followed before going on one knee and speaking into a small microphone hidden in her ear, "This is Melody, do you copy?"

"Melody, this is Arachnid, go ahead."

"I've infiltrated the village interior. What's your status?"

"Orochimaru-sama has been injured gravely; his arms are...what now, Jiroubou? Fine, eat already. We're resting anyway. Yes, the ANBU lost us..." Kidoumaru grumbled before going on, "Sorry. As I was saying, Orochimaru is injured. Things...went badly; his arms are burnt off, or so it would seem. Not only that, but our forces are having trouble too, according to our scouts. Even Iwa, which was _supposed_ to be the trump card to break Konoha's defenses, is starting to retreat back."

Tayuya bit back a curse, and looked around before continuing, "Well, looks like I'll be going through with Mission: Wood Rot."

"Fair enough. Kabuto hasn't arrived at our rendezvous point yet. You know what to do, Tayuya. Good luck."

"Tch, like I'll need it. These Leaf-nin are so trusting I could hold a box of chocolates in one hand and a roll of explosive tags with the other and they'd still welcome me into their village with open arms. I'll be fine. Melody, over and out."

Tayuya pulled off her ear piece and microphone, crushing it with her hand, destroying the any evidence. She looked around, and gave a firm nod. If Konoha couldn't be destroyed from the outside, then she'd be the catalyst to destroy it from the inside. Let it rot, just like a dying tree.

The Oto-kunoichi grinned inwardly. Konoha and rotting trees. It just seemed to have a nice ring to it.

**End of Chapter Sixteen: Dang, this was way past overdue, eh? Well, here it is, better now than never I suppose. As you can see, I tweaked things a bit here and there. I decided that Minato would definitely be a more dramatic figure to put in here on Naruto's part. Yeah, I know, it's been overdone, but it IS a good idea. Now that he knows more about his heritage and family, expect things to change a lot from here on out. Not to mention that more than just Oto, Suna, and Konoha got themselves involved in this huge battle. With Iwa, there's bound to be more fighting than before. Well, as always, thanks to those who have read this. I appreciate it!**

**_Kuchiyose no Jutsu- (Spiritualism Technique)- (Original)- _This technique allows the summoner to call upon animals, objects, and even the dead in some cases to fight on their behalf. With animal summons (like toads for instance), the user often must sign a blood contract in order to call upon the summon creature.**

_**Henge: Kongonyoi- (Transformation: Diamond-like Hardness)- (Original)-**_** A transformation technique performed by Monkey King Enma. By using this henge, he can transform himself into diamond-hard adamantine staff. He can also alter the length of the staff while in battle to help in battle.**

_**Hiraishin no Jutsu- (Flying Thunder God Technique)- (Original)- **_**A unique jutsu created by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. This jutsu allowed him to place a seal with a special 'jutsu formula' on them that allowed him to instantaneously transport himself to the area of the seal. By applying this special sealing jutsu onto a weapon, he could then appear wherever the weapon was thrown, or wherever someone carrying the weapon was. This jutsu also allowed Minato to know the location of those with the seal on them and around it, so it doubled as a sort of means of surveillance as well. Another unique fact about this technique was that it was more of a space-time manipulation jutsu, not an accelerated movement technique like the **_**Shunshin no Jutsu**_**, making this technique much faster. It was this technique that helped Konoha win the war against Iwagakure.**

_**Kawarimi- (Change of the Body Stance Technique)- (Original)- **_**This basic ninja technique allows a shinobi to quickly replace themselves with some other nearby object to avoid injury, or even switch places with another person in some cases.**

_**Bunshin Bakuha- (Clone Explosion)- (Original)- **_**A technique where the user makes what appears to be a normal shadow clone at first glance. However, the user can detonate the clone at any time to create a large explosion.**

_**Rasengan**__**-(Spiral Sphere)- (Original)-**_** This technique was originally developed over a three year period by the Yondaime Hokage. The technique requires pure shape manipulation of chakra and needed no handseals. The user forms their chakra into a spinning ball of chakra, which creates a powerful force in the size that can fit into their palm. It requires several steps in order to learn, ****and is said to be incomplete since the Yondaime Hokage never got a chance to add nature manipulation to it. Kakashi Hatake is also said to know how to use this technique, aside from Jiraiya.**

_**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu **__**-- Fire Release: Fireball Technique (origingal)- **_**A fire jutsu used by many of the clan members of the Uchiha clan, as well as quite a few shinobi of Konoha. The user does the necessary hand seals, draws the necessary chakra from within their chest, and exhales it in a steady stream of flames, creating a fireball. **


	17. Searching for a Fifth

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto, but if I owned Naruto, then Naruto would have the ability to power up and his hair would glow while a yellow aura surrounded him...but that's a whole other can of worms that I won't go into. So yeah, I don't own Naruto.**

**Chap. 17: Searching for a Fifth**

"The enemy is retreating!!" shouted a Jounin of Suna as they continued to drive out straggling Sound and Rock shinobi.

Asuma let out a sigh of relief. It looked like the battle was finally ending. He had received word via messenger bird that Kakashi, Kurenai, and the others had fought off the majority of enemies at the main gate with only a few casualties for Konoha and Suna. The eastern wall was for the most part safe. Most of the forces defending Konoha had moved to the southern wall, preparing for a final push to drive out the invaders.

"Asuma-sensei!"

The Sarutobi turned to see the group of Genin that made up the able-bodied Rookie Nine, plus Team Gai and the Suna Genin that had been in the finals. He grinned while taking a quick drag from his cigarette, "Hey. Glad to see you kids are all okay. What's the word?"

Shikamaru nodded, "The Academy seems like it was evacuated successfully, so we made our way to the southern market area as planned. The ANBU got the scroll with no problems, either."

The Jounin gave a smile to the group, "Well done! We'll just need to drive out the shinobi forces from Iwa and Oto. Keep back and give any support where it's needed."

There was no time for a response as the sound of an explosion went off. Asuma turned while yelling out a string of curses, "Damn, those are the paper bombs we laid around the perimeter! We need to-" He looked up as several spear-like projections were seen falling from the sky, "Move!!!"

The entire group of ninja within the vicinity spread out as earthen spears smashed into the open area. Shrapnel went flying in every direction, most of it embedding into nearby buildings. Asuma chanced a peek from behind a stand, and nodded, "Alright, we're clear! Move and take out any Iwa-nin before they get further into Konoha!"

There were several shouts from the various Genin, Chunin and Jounin within the area, and several blurs could be seen heading towards to meet the breaching forces of Hidden Rock.

Yet another explosion went off, sending several shinobi into the air. Naruto looked from his cover behind a fallen tin roof, "What was that?"

"It appears that Iwa has managed to set up their own counter-traps. Our forces triggered them..." Gaara spoke. Naruto grit his teeth as he looked to see the now injured shinobi allies, "Naruto, what are you thinking?"

The blond turned to his Jinchuuriki companion and smirked, "How fast can you move your sand?"

"As fast as it needs to. Jiraiya-sensei fixed that seal on me, remember?"

"Good. I have a plan..." The blond spoke in a hushed tone while Gaara nodded before uncorking his gourd.

1717171717

Gai let out a battle cry as he sent a straggling Oto-nin into a pile of crates before they hit a wall, slumping to the ground and blacking out.

"Yosh! Come on, Kakashi, Kurenai! Our comrades need our aid!! No time for slacking!"

Kurenai sighed as she picked up the pace along with the silver haired Jounin, "I swear, Kakashi, I'm half tempted to put him under a genjutsu and-"

"Easy, Kurenai. Gai's got a point, though; Asuma and the others need help. The last string of Iwa's main force is there." the masked shinobi replied as they hopped from rooftop to rooftop, "Besides, our students are there."

"You're right." Kurenai spoke. In truth, only Shino was actually fighting with the other Genin of Konoha and Suna, "I hope they're alright."

Kakashi turned to the kunoichi, his eye crinkling as he gave her a reassuring masked grin, "They're a talented group; all of them. I'm sure they're all okay."

The three Jounin halted only a few blocks from the battle ahead as a large spike of chakra was felt, and a fountain of sand shot into the air. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he looked to the top of the large tendril of sand, and lifted his Sharingan, not sure if he was seeing correctly.

"Kakashi, isn't that Naruto on top of that moving tower of sand?" Gai asked, "What's he doing up there?"

The three didn't have to wait long as Naruto looked down to someone, waving a hand to them. It must have been some sort of signal, because a moment later the pillar of sand moved towards the gate that was being breached by the enemy shinobi. The blond was rolling through a set of hand seals before opening his two palms wide and blasting a powerful gale of wind from each of his hands.

"I have to admit, Kakashi, that boy can put on a show." Kurenai spoke, a light chuckle escaping her lips, "Makes me wonder what he'll be like in a few years."

Kakashi felt himself smile proudly as he watched his student blast away at the Iwa forces while creating an opening for the other Konoha and Suna shinobi to move forward.

"I wonder the same thing, Kurenai. Let's go. We better see what we can do about getting Iwa out of here."

"Right." Gai and Kurenai both replied. The two jumped off the roof, and continued onward to the main fight. A few seconds later found the three Jounin in the fray while blocking shuriken, kunai, and various _Doton_ techniques.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

The masked Jounin turned to a familiar voice, "Sakura. Glad to see you okay. How's Sasuke and the others?"

Sakura gave a weary sigh while wiping her brow of sweat, "For the most part, we're good. Lee got a piece of shrapnel lodged into his leg, but I managed to get it out and disinfect the wound before wrapping it. Aside from that, we haven't really had any major injuries in our group."

"Duck!"

The four didn't even hesitate before hitting the dirt. A second later, about several dozen projectiles ranging from sickles, kunai, shuriken, and knives flew over their heads. Several cries of pain were heard as the weapons hit their designated targets. Tenten landed beside Sakura, letting out a tired breath before grinning.

"Haha! Good work, Tenten! Your youthfulness shines as brightly as the sun on a-"

"Heh, thanks Gai-sensei." Tenten said, waving a hand and cutting her teacher off, "Sakura, you're the one with the main medical kit, and we have a few injured Chunin and Genin with us. We need your help with treatment."

Sakura gave a nod, "Er...r-right! Thanks!" She turned to her sensei, "Well, I better go help, Kakashi-sensei. Stay safe! You too, Kurenai-sensei, Gai-sensei!"

The two kunoichi jumped off when the area was clear, making a mad dash to help the injured. Kurenai was the first to speak, "Hm. Sakura Haruno...you know, I recall that she was one of the better students in first aid if I'm not mistaken."

"That's correct. She seems to be doing a fairly decent job at helping lead the group." Kakashi replied while watching the two kunoichi vanish as they turned around a corner.

"Yeah. Actually, I think it was her and Shikamaru that came up with the plan to get the message to the ANBU and then meet at the Academy."

The three Jounin all turned to Asuma. Kurenai gave a rather relieved smile upon seeing the bearded Jounin, "Asuma! You're alright!"

"Yeah...though I'm going to have a ringing in my left ear for a few hours after that last explosion. Damn it..."

It was at that moment that a younger Suna Chunin and a Konoha Jounin appeared next to Asuma, "We've managed to get the Iwa forces at a stalemate at the gate, but we're not sure how long we can hold them back."

Asuma gave a grunt, "Good. How are we fairing as far as manpower?"

The Suna Chunin nodded, "We've lost less than fifty of our ninja, that's including injuries. It's unbelievable that we've done so well."

Kakashi looked to see Gaara standing in the middle of the road, sand whirling around him while a large pillar of the small grains continued moving around. Still standing at the top was the blond shinobi, who had gone to throwing a few clones of himself into the fray for added confusion, "I think I have an idea on why we're doing so well."

The group of shinobi gave a quick nod and dashed off to finish this battle while they still had the advantage.

1717171717

"All clear!"

"All clear!"

"All clear!"

Hayate gave a sigh of relief as he sheathed his sword after cleaning it of blood, "Looks like the worst is over."

Genma gave a chuckle while chewing on his senbon, "Yep. I have to admit, if it wasn't for Suna...we'd be in a real pickle right now."

Hayate gave a cough before he spoke, "If it wasn't for Suna helping us, we'd be fighting them."

"That's...true."

The sound of feet landing behind the two alerted them, and they spun around to see a female ANBU with purple hair standing before them. She pulled off her mask to reveal a woman with dark colored eyes and a tearful smile, "Hayate, you're alive!"

Hayate gave a small smile, "Yeah. Genma saved my hide on more than one occasion though."

Genma gave a nod while mumbling something about mud in his sandals.

"Thank you, Genma." Yugao Uzuki spoke as she walked over and embraced Hayate, "Looks like Iwa is retreating. I heard two Genin were responsible for that."

Hayate and Genma exchanged knowing smirks, "Yeah. It was those two Suna Genin; Naro and Gaara. They have...a lot of chakra. One obviously has power over sand, and that Naro kid really showed some potential in _Fuuton _ninjutsu."

The three looked over the village, relieved that the damage wasn't that bad. A few buildings were collapsed here and there, but that was nothing that couldn't be taken care of within a few years at most. The gates of Konoha were damaged, but that was to be expected.

"You do realize that this is only going to get worse for us later, right?"

Yugao and Hayate gave a nod to Genma, "We're at war with Iwa now. It was only a matter of time." Yugao spoke with a sigh, "They've been looking for a reason to fight us since the day the Yondaime was brought into office."

The smell of smoke blew through the air, along with the hint of burning trees. Despite the damage they had received though, Konoha was still standing strong. They still remained a force to be reckoned with.

1717171717

Naruto and Gaara sat on top of the gate lookout, both watching as the sun began its descent in the sky, "Hey, Gaara. We did pretty good today, didn't we?"

"I believe so. I've been hearing rumors that the two of us managed to eliminate most of the major threats when we worked together earlier." the redhead replied. He was quiet for a moment before speaking, "I...I think I understand what you meant about protecting those who you care for a bit more, Naruto. I had no doubt in my mind that I would fail in protecting Nee-san and Kankuro, as well as our other friends when I was fighting."

The blond gave a smile, "Good. It's a great feeling, isn't it?"

Gaara nodded before looking to the side a bit, "Neesan is coming."

Naruto got up as he felt the faint signature of the wind-using kunoichi approaching. Not a second later, Temari landed by the two younger males, and smiled, "So this is where you two went." She walked up and wrapped her arms around Gaara first, "Nice job, Gaara. You did great out there."

Gaara, much to his chagrin, had a faint blush, "Thank you, Nee-san."

She laughed before mussing his hair up a little, "No problem. Baki-sensei is looking for you. Something about a promotion I think." Much to her surprise, Gaara's eyes widened slightly.

"Really?" He asked calmly, "Promotion?"

Temari shrugged, "Yeah, but he didn't explain."

The youngest of the sand siblings gave a nod before heading off in a whirl of sand. Temari laughed while shaking her head, "Did you see the look in his eyes?"

Naruto chuckled a bit as well, "Yeah. I think he looked excited."

Temari walked over to Naruto and wrapped him in hug while resting her cheek on his forehead, "You worried me when you and Gaara went outside the gate to chase off the enemy."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I should be apologizing. I've...been a bit rough on you lately with the whole 'don't go and do anything stupid' rant. Truth is, I think I should be a bit more trusting of your abilities." Temari spoke while Naruto wrapped his arms around her, "I'm...still trying to get used to having a boyfriend. I worry about you."

Naruto looked up a little to see her eyes watering a bit, "Temari-chan? You alright?"

A sniffle, "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a bit emotional. Must be due to a drop in the adrenaline rush after the battle ended."

"Really?"

"Probably not."

Naruto grinned brightly, "Well, if it helps any, you were on my mind while I fought too. Maybe that's why I did so well."

Temari blushed a bit, as did the shorter blond Jinchuuriki, "If you're trying to earn points with me, keep it up." She gave him a wink while pecking him on the cheek, "Right. I also came to get you as well. Baki-sensei wanted to talk to all of us about the same thing, actually."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Naruto whooped.

1717171717

Naruto stood dumbfounded in front of the Hokage's office while a heavily bandaged Hiruzen Sarutobi was smiling, "A-are you serious??"

Baki, who was standing a ways off from the Sandaime Hokage, nodded, "That's right. Looking at the circumstances behind your 'absence' in Konoha, and the fact that you continued to demonstrate loyalty to both your village of birth and Suna, we've managed to make you the first person to have official 'dual shinobi registration'. It's still in the works as to what that allows you, but consider yourself a true Chunin of Konoha and Suna."

"Sweet! Thanks Baki-sensei and Jii-sa-wait...did you say?" Naruto paused as his eyes lit up.

Sarutobi laughed, "Well, Baki, so much for seeing if he'd miss it." Sarutobi picked something up from behind his desk, and handed it to Naruto, "I must admit, it's the first time I've seen a flak-jacket of such design."

Naruto held in his shaking hands a tan jacket, not unlike that of Sunagakure's higher ranked shinobi. There were some key differences though. One was the red swirl that was commonly seen on the vest of Konohagakure shinobi, which was stitched in on the usual spots that they would be on the green jackets. Another key feature was the green leaf symbol on the left pocket on the left chest area, and a darker brown sand emblem on the right chest pocket. He took in a shaky breath, "S-so...does this mean...?"

"Congratulations on your promotion, Chunin Naruto Uzumaki." Sarutobi spoke as a grin crept onto the young Chunin's features, "Now put it on; we want to see how well it fits."

Near the entrance of the large office stood the three other shinobi of Baki's team, all newly promoted Chunin as well. Temari had a smile on her face as Naruto tried on the new jacket while barely containing his joy.

"How did you get this made so quickly? We were just fighting less than five hours ago..."

Baki gave a nod, "In all honesty, we brought along four jackets during the month of the finals preparation. The paperwork was all ready for you as well, that way we could make your promotion official quickly. The minor changes of sewing on the insignia's and the red patches were only about an hour and a half worth of work for a professional."

Naruto nodded while zipping up the flak-jacket and grinning, "It feels fine." He moved his arms around a bit and moved around, "It's flexible enough. Kind of light, too."

"That's not surprising. Suna's shinobi jackets are usually lighter than Konoha's. Mainly to reduce the amount of heat kept in by the body during the day while in the desert. It's heavy enough though that it holds in thermal heat during the night too." Baki explained while signaling for his three other students to come forward as well.

Sarutobi looked to the three and gave them all a nod, "I must say, in all my years as a shinobi, I cannot recall seeing such youthful and strong-willed Genin from Suna. I thank you for your help in maintaining secrecy during the planning for our counter against Otogakure." His features fell a bit as he continued, "I will not pretend that there is no bad news though. I can only assume Iwagakure will begin making moves to attack Suna from the north."

"Don't worry, Sandaime-sama. Suna's been keeping a careful eye on Hidden Rock, not to mention all of Earth Country, for a few years now. We've been ready for an attack since the war ended." Baki spoke with a serious, yet assuring tone.

"Sandaime-sama...does this mean Naruto is no longer at risk of being considered a traitor?" Temari asked hesitantly.

"In most cases, Naruto would have been imprisoned. As the three of you are aware though, Naruto's...a special case. I don't believe I need to go into details as to what exactly those special reason are, correct?"

The three nodded. Naruto's reason for leaving due to the Kyuubi, while probably unnecessary, was not intended as direct betrayal towards Konoha. As such, he had not been considered a criminal; just a run-away.

"Thank you." Temari spoke with a bow.

"Hey, Jii-san. Was anyone else promoted to Chunin?" Naruto asked with a bit of anxiousness in his voice.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Sarutobi dug into a drawer and looked over a newly printed scroll, "There were three, in fact. Shikamaru Nara, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. Even though Sakura lost in the exam, she had demonstrated the ability to lead during the attack, if the accounts from her peers and witnesses are true. War time promotions aren't uncommon, Naruto. I imagine that you're other friends will be promoted soon enough if they continue to improve."

"Neat! So that means they can take higher ranked missions too, right?"

"Yes."

Naruto laughed while pumping a fist into the air, "Sweet! This is awesome! Maybe we'll be doing joint-missions sometime!"

Kankuro shook his head, "I swear, give the guy a new jacket and he thinks he can take on the world." He chuckled a bit while Temari rolled her eyes.

"On that note," Sarutobi began, "Gaara and Naruto, if I may, I'd like to speak to you two about a special request."

"Request?"

"Yes. It pertains to the future of Konoha."

Naruto's eyes lit up. Before he could ask further, Baki spoke, "Before you go and play twenty questions, Naruto, wait until the Hokage has told you what he needs to."

Naruto closed his mouth while grinning sheepishly. The three Suna-nin left the office, and Sarutobi cleared his throat, "Alright, Jiraiya. The boys are ready."

A second later, said Sannin hopped through the open window of Hiruzen's office, "Hey you two."

"Ero-sennin!"

"Jiraiya-sensei."

The Toad Sage looked to his two pupils, one with mild annoyance, and the other with a small grin, "I heard you two really gave Iwa and Oto a good amount of trouble. Nice job!"

"Heheheh, yeah, Gaara's gotten a lot better at moving his sand thanks to the chakra control exercises." Naruto replied while giving the Sannin a thumbs up.

"I'm sure." Jiraiya nodded, "Anyway, boys, the main reason I wanted to talk to you two was for the very reason Sarutobi-sensei said. This is for the future of Konoha."

"In what way?" Gaara asked.

Sarutobi folded his hands, "I'll be honest with you two; I'm old. Past my prime. This battle has shown me just how much I've lost to aging. I'm afraid that if there were another attack like this on Konoha, I would not be able to provide the adequate protection."

"What are you getting at, Jii-san?"

Jiraiya spoke, "We're going to look for the next Hokage to take over his place. I'm taking you two with me so I can train you further while we travel."

Naruto was quiet for a moment, "Wait...you mean...you're stepping down, Jii-san?"

Sarutobi gave a nod, "I'm afraid so, Naruto. I'll become an advisor to the future Hokage, and work alongside with Koharu and Homura as well."

"Good luck with _that_." Jiraiya muttered.

"It's my civil duty, Jiraiya."

"It's a choice, too."

"I like to think that it's my post-Hokage position. Makes it more bearable." Sarutobi chuckled, "Besides, I haven't really spoken with Homura in ages. It'd be good to catch up with him outside of office duty."

"When do we leave?" Gaara asked.

"In a few days. We're going to have a public service for the ninja who were killed, and then we'll head out the day after." Jiraiya replied, "In the meantime, rest up and make sure that you've got everything you need."

"Right." both Jinchuuriki boys said in unison. They headed out afterwards while Jiraiya and Sarutobi remained in the office.

"So, you really think Tsunade would be the best choice?" the elderly Hokage asked, "I suppose you weren't as eager for receiving that title compared to Orochimaru."

Jiraiya sighed, "Tsunade has always been a better person in the responsibility department, you know that. Besides, how will I maintain my contacts in the spy network if I'm stuck in one place?"

"You prove your point. I just hope you can locate her. She's good at disappearing when she wants to."

"Trust me, old man. Her debt is big enough that it alone provides a big enough trail to follow." Jiraiya joked as he walked over to the window, "Well, I have to go take care of a few errands and send out a few letters."

"Jiraiya."

The Sannin looked to his former teacher, noting the serious tone in his voice, "Yeah?"

"This scroll you gave me a week ago..." Sarutobi held up a small scroll. Jiraiya's face became stony as he recognized it.

"What about it?"

"Are you certain about this information?"

"I got it from him personally. He warned me about the organization a year ago, but didn't really know their motives until just a few months ago. You know how hard it can be to maintain a safe system of communication with him."

"I understand. I'll leave it to you to inform him that we're taking the proper steps to insure we're prepared for this." Hiruzen spoke. Jiraiya simply nodded before jumping out the window.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the scroll for a moment longer before letting out a weary sigh. He had feared that this day would come. He just hoped that Gaara and Naruto would be able to handle this new problem.

1717171717

The funeral was as any would be for a large group of shinobi. Those who knew the fallen ninja, from Suna and Konoha alike, were there. Naruto noted that even Neji, Hinata, and Kiba, who had been taken to the evacuation center of Konoha Hospital during the attack, were present.

To his right stood Temari, and his left were Gaara and Kankuro, and Baki behind them. None of the Suna shinobi had any black attire to wear, so they were forced to wear their normal ninja clothing. Most of the Konoha shinobi populous was probably present for this funeral, if Naruto guessed right.

Despite the atmosphere, Naruto was relieved. Not a single one of his friends was killed in the battle. The worst injuries were maintained by Lee, who was already on his way to a swift recovery.

Still, not everyone was as lucky. A few ninja, despite surviving near-fatal injuries, would never be able to serve as shinobi again. They were the luckier ones. Others were dead, obviously.

"Hey, Temari?"

The blond kunoichi turned to Naruto, "Hm?"

Naruto gave a soft smile, "I'm glad you're here with me."

Temari gave a gentle smile of her own, "Yeah. Me too."

There was a small cloudburst, and rain softly fell on the shinobi gathered as they looked at all the pictures of fallen friends and comrades. A good portion of the ninja present held a single white flower in hand, and laid it down upon the Hero's Memorial as they said their final goodbyes to the fallen.

After the funeral, Naruto slowly walked down the road to his old apartment. The rain had stopped, much to his relief, and he had decided to go to his former residency and get a few things that he had been meaning to retrieve after he found out about the mission to find the next Hokage.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto froze in place, and turned his head to the left to see someone he hadn't been expecting, "Hinata? What are you doing-?"

"Why did you leave Konoha?"

Naruto was a bit shocked by the firmness in her otherwise soft-spoken voice, "Uh...Hinata, look, it's a long story, and I don't really-"

"Please. I-I'm just asking for the truth." Hinata spoke, fidgeting with her two index fingers and looking away, "We were all sad when we found out you hadn't returned with Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei."

"..." Naruto was quiet for a moment before he chose his words carefully, "I had my reasons. They were not reasons directed towards Konoha in any way that was bad. I...I don't think it'd be a good thing to tell you right now. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

Hinata didn't look too happy about this, but nodded, "I understand. We're shinobi; secrets are a part of our duty. I-I'm just glad th-that it wasn't for a bad reason dealing with Konoha. I...we're your friends, Naruto. I know...I know that you have been through tough times, and...well, um...I was worried that m-maybe you had run away because of that..."

Great, now Naruto felt guilty. He couldn't tell her right now though. Well, he _could_, but he'd rather climb that ladder when he had more people gathered. In fact, he'd rather it be in front of the entire Rookie Nine, Team Gai, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara. He'd rather get it out of the way with everyone at once than little by little.

"Thanks, Hinata." He grinned a bit, "How are you doing, by the way?"

"Ah, I'm better. S-still a bit weak, but I-I had a checkup today, and the medic said I was recovering well. I should be able to go back to full training within a month."

"That's awesome! You were really looking bad back in the Preliminaries, so it's good to hear that."

"Yes. Um...Naruto?"

Naruto noticed the pale-eyed girl was looking at him directly this time, a rather pink blush on her face, "What's up?"

"I...also wanted to thank you for cheering me on when I fought Neji-niisan. It...it helped me keep fighting, even though I was tired and weakened..." She looked away the minute Naruto's smile grew, "So...um...thank you."

"Hahaha! Yeah, no problem, Hinata! You're not that weak, either! You just need to believe in yourself more, you know? That's what makes the difference in a fight, right?"

"R-right."

"So don't go and worry about whether you're 'weak' or 'not good enough', because that's a load of crap. You're a Konoha ninja, and you were able to make it to Genin, which means you obviously have the potential to become a great ninja." the blond spoke as he chuckled lightly.

"I...thank you very m-much, Naruto. You're too kind."

"Too kind? I'm just being honest, heheh!"

Hinata actually laughed a bit as well, before she spoke up, "Oh! I'm getting along better with Neji-niisan too. He...he wanted me to thank you. He says he thinks he understands what you meant in your match with him."

"I'm glad to hear that, Hinata. I hope things continue to be well for you and your family." Naruto looked up to the sky, noting the faint rays of sunlight breaking through the dark clouds, "Well, I have to get going. I have a mission tomorrow."

"O-okay, Naruto-kun. Please be careful on your mission."

"I will, Hinata! Take care!"

As Naruto dashed off to his apartment, Hinata felt a smile creep onto her features. She watched the boy she had admired for a few years now as he became a blond dot in the distance, "I'm glad you're still the same, Naruto-kun. You've changed so much at the same time though, but I think it only made you stronger."

1717171717

The night came quicker than expected for Naruto. He had brought a few extra ninja tools that he had left at his apartment with him in a pack and dropped them off in his hotel room.

"Hey, Naruto." Kankuro greeted as the blond walked in, "That guy with the pony-tail and dark hair dropped by...um...Shikamaru I think. Yeah, Shikamaru. He invited us to his house for some get-together or whatever."

"Shikamaru? Holding something at his house?" Naruto scrunched his face up a bit, "I wonder how badly Ino had to nag him for that one."

"I don't know, but we're leaving in an hour. You know where he lives?"

"Yeah, I've been to his house once or twice before. He lives near the woods." the whiskered blond replied, "Is Temari here?"

"Yeah, she's on the roof or something. She wanted to get some air. Gaara's making some final preparations with Baki-sensei for that mission tomorrow." the puppet-user replied, "I'm just cleaning out Karasu's gears a bit before we leave."

"Alright. I'm going to go find Temari then."

Naruto headed up to the roof, and sure enough, there was Temari. She was sitting on the edge of the roof, looking up at the early night sky. She didn't even turn to him when she spoke, "Hey, Naruto. I was wondering when you'd come up here."

Naruto grinned, "Heheh, yeah. Kankuro said you wanted to get some air, and told me to look up here."

"Yeah..." Temari said quietly as Naruto sat down beside her and held her hand, "You know...Konoha's night sky is nice...but the desert doesn't get many clouds, so the nights are clearer."

"I guess you're right. I like Konoha though because there's lots of trees."

Temari nodded, "Hey, Naruto. How long are you going to be gone?"

The younger blond thought for a moment before shrugging, "Ero-sennin didn't say. We could be gone for a week, or a month. Maybe longer. No real clue, but he was favoring less than a month. He said he has a good idea where our person we're looking for is."

"Oh. Well, either way, there's something I wanted do before we went to that gathering with the others at that Nara boy's house." She rolled up her left arm, and did the same with Naruto's arm before he could ask questions.

"What are you doing, Temari?"

"Just watch. Kamatari told me about this today. I figured it'd be a good idea, and help us when we're separated." She pulled out a kunai, and cut the index finger of her right arm, "Can I have your right hand please?"

Naruto hesitated for only a second before she took it. She cut his index finger and pressed it onto his left forearm. She made a simple seal of sorts, and then made the same seal on her own left forearm. She went through a few quick hand seals and whispered something before the seals glowed green.

"Whoa, that feels weird." Naruto spoke as the green light faded.

"Yeah. It's called a mutual summoner seal. Usually they're unnecessary, but considering that Kamatari is the only summon in his clan, this can help. Whenever one of us summons Kamatari, the seal will tingle, allowing us to know that he's been summoned." Temari explained as she pulled down her sleeves, "It also doubles as a warning signal. Whenever one of us completely runs out of chakra or if the seal is cut off from our chakra system, then the other person will feel a sharp tingling feeling run down their arm, and the seal will glow red."

"Heheh, so it's kind of a bond between us, huh? Neat!"

Temari smiled brightly, "Yeah! That way, we'll always know that the other is okay."

The two sat in a comfortable silence, Temari leaning against Naruto's body a bit as they stared at the moon, "You know...I'm glad I ran from Konoha."

"What?" Temari asked, unsure if she heard right.

"Yeah. I mean, if I didn't, I may have never met you, Gaara, Kankuro, and Baki-sensei. Well, maybe I would have, but it would have been at the Chunin Exams, and I can't be sure that we'd be friends, you know?"

"I...I guess I never thought of that. Yeah, that'd be weird. I can't imagine me seeing you as a stranger, to be honest. You've been around us for too long already."

Naruto looked up to the sky as he continued, "I wonder what Gaara would have been like..."

Temari fought down a shudder. She always loved her brother, but in the same token, he had been scary to deal with. That and bloodthirsty at times. She shook her head, "I don't want to think about that. I'm just glad we met you. You helped us all so much."

The Uzumaki boy gave a light shrug, "You guys helped me too, though. Hell, you saved me from being vulture food back in the desert."

"Yeah. Then again, you were too cute to pass by. Even if you had turned down being a ninja, I would have made you mine." Temari said with a playful grin.

"Heheh, yeah, only because I'm so damn charming." Naruto joked, getting a elbow to the ribs from the kunoichi. He continued laughing as Temari tackled him in a playful gesture.

Naruto looked up to see Temari sporting a light blush, and he felt his own face heat up as she smiled, "What's the matter, Naruto-_kun_?"

Naruto felt his body shiver a bit as she pressed her forehead against his, the breath from her nose tickling his face, "I'm so damn lucky."

Temari giggled, "You're a smooth talker, but you need to work on making your voice sound huskier." the whiskered blond pouted while Temari simply gave him a teasing grin.

Naruto felt his face heat up further as she brushed a gentle hand over his whiskers, "T-Temari-chan..."

Temari hushed him softly and nuzzled against the crook of his neck while Naruto rubbed soft circles on her back, "Let's just enjoy this quiet for a bit. I like the sound of wind blowing through leaves. It's calming."

The two remained on the roof, just listening to the sound of the other breathing as the wind blew softly. Naruto felt Temari's steady heartbeat against his own chest, and felt like he could practically fall asleep to it.

"Er..."

The two blonds shifted a bit to see Kankuro giving a rather embarrassed look to the two. Temari gave her older of two younger brothers a death glare, "What, Kankuro?"

"We're heading over to that Shikamaru guy's house. You coming?"

Naruto blinked, completely unaware of the glare Temari continued to send to the puppet-user, "Oh yeah, we don't want to be late! Ready to go, Temari?"

Temari sometimes wished that Naruto was a little more mature so she could better enjoy the romantic moments with him. He _was_ a lot better with patience, and he didn't mind sitting in one place with her, but she was pretty sure that if given the option, he'd rather train with her for an hour than spend two hours walking in a park at midnight with the stars out and sakura trees blowing softly in the wind...sit in each other's embrace and let their hands wander as they...

...she _really_ needed to stop reading those damn novels so much. Icha Icha was good and all, but she couldn't deny that it was still smut. She was pretty sure there should be a warning about the series affecting the libido of readers pasted on every copy that was sold. She had bought the first of the series about two weeks ago during their time in between the Preliminaries and the Finals in Konoha. She had done it out of sheer curiosity, then ended up finishing the book in a week's time. She now had the second one in the series, and was pretty sure that she had developed an addiction of sorts. She was just glad that she had managed to scare the bookstore owner into selling it to her despite being underage. It helped to carry her huge battle fan around.

About ten minutes later found the four newly promoted Chunin hopping across the rooftops towards the Nara estate. Once the trees started getting especially large, Naruto stopped, and pointed ahead to a decent sized house with a few lights on, "That's Shikamaru's place."

"I didn't expect the Nara clan to have so much land," Gaara commented, "There's a lot of trees around here."

"Yeah, Shikamaru's family raises deer. I...I think their antlers have some kind of medicine ingredients in them. Anyway, the deer like walking in the woods."

Kankuro took a look at the trees and gave a hum, "You know...I may have to talk to Shikamaru about timber. I could use some for replacing parts in my puppet gears."

The four approached the front door of the Nara estate house, and Naruto knocked. There was a sound of someone walking towards the door, and it opened to reveal none other than Shikamaru, "Oh, it's you guys. Come in, just don't mess anything up. My mom is bad enough without the house being a mess. Just be glad that my parents went out for the night..."

The four took off their sandals and walked inside. They followed the Nara boy into the house, walking down a hallway lined with pictures of various members of the Nara clan. Naruto noted that most of them had deer in them as well as well as people.

"So, Shikamaru, you're a Chunin too, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm not too sure if that's a good thing though. More work is likely to come with the rank." the lazy shinobi replied. He turned towards a room where the sound of chatter could be heard, and the five entered a large den room where all of the Konoha Nine and Team Gai were socializing.

"There they are! We were worried you guys forgot about us." Ino spoke with a smile.

Sasuke gave Naruto a smirk, "Nice jacket, Naruto."

Naruto grinned, giving Sasuke a thumbs up, "Yours isn't too bad either."

Sure enough, Sasuke was sporting a green flak jacket that was standard issue of Konoha Chunin. He left it partly open while the bottom was zipped up. Sakura, who was sitting by Ino and Hinata, however, wasn't wearing a flak jacket, though he noticed that it was lying behind her.

Kiba waved over to Naruto, "Hey, Naruto! Get over here; Sasuke keeps saying you drove back a group of Iwa-nin! I want the story from you before I believe it!"

Naruto chuckled, and looked to Gaara, "I think you better come with, Gaara. Kiba won't believe me if you aren't there to help me tell it."

Gaara gave a nod, "Very well, though I believe that he'll be hard to convince either way."

Kankuro rolled his eyes, "Great. Our brother and Naruto have become celebrities already." He headed over to say hello to Shino, who was sitting next to Kiba. This left Temari standing by herself while unsure if she should sit down with someone or not. Sure, she knew the girls a little, but not enough to really socialize with them. Truth was, she never did socialize that much; she was always busy training.

"Temari, get over here!" Ino called out, and the Suna-kunoichi gave a nod before sitting down by the platinum blond and Sakura. Soon enough she found Tenten and Hinata sitting nearby, forming a circle, "So...is it true that you and Naruto are..." Ino gave a giggle as Temari blushed a bit, "...ah, I rest my case. So...is he a good kisser?"

Sakura sighed, "Ino, seriously? Give her a break!"

Ino giggled lightly, "I can't help it! I just find it adorable! I mean, she's dating Naruto! _Our_ Naruto! The hyperactive ninja that can be heard halfway through Konoha! It's cute! I mean, the idea of someone from another village stealing his heart and-"

"Ino..." Sakura ground out, seeing Temari now had a healthy pink blush, "Stop before you say something you'll regret."

Tenten decided to speak, "Hm. So, Temari...to repeat Ino's question...is he a good kisser?" Temari noted that the Hyuuga girl seemed thoroughly interested in the topic as well, giving a nod for the wind-using kunoichi to answer.

Temari fought down the urge to cover her face behind her fan, "I...I _guess_ he is. I mean, I haven't really dated before...so I wouldn't really know if he's good or bad."

Ino covered her mouth as she squealed quietly, "Oh my gosh! That's so romantic! He's your first boyfriend! How did you meet?"

Temari decided that she may as well tell the story, while leaving out certain points like the fight between Naruto and her brother, "Well...I found him half buried in the dunes outside of my village..."

1717171717

"Wow...so you can store that much sand in your gourd?"

Gaara gave a nod to the Inuzuka boy, "Yes. It actually weighs a lot."

Chouji gave a grunt while munching on some chips, "I bet it'd make for good weight training. That or storing food..."

"I wouldn't recommend that though; the gourd itself is made of molded sand. If you don't mind getting that in your food, then I guess it'd be okay." Kankuro replied. Gaara gave a nod as the guys looked to him.

"That gourd would probably be good for holding a hive in it." Shino spoke quietly while the others gave nods, though most were not entirely sure what would qualify as good material for holding an insect hive.

"Yeesh. That must weigh at least one hundred pounds..." Shikamaru muttered while looking at the giant sand gourd.

"That may be pushing it a bit." Neji spoke while giving Gaara's gourd a once-over, "I'd say closer to eighty pounds."

"One hundred seventeen, actually." Gaara replied, "I've had it since I learned to control my chakra though, so I don't notice its weight anymore...in fact, it's been getting heavier."

The guys were quiet for a moment, "You're kidding, right?"

Naruto turned to Kiba, "He's telling the truth. I almost pulled a back muscle out of place when I tried to lift it once."

"Oh, that would be an excellent way to train myself further!! I must tell Gai-sensei about this!" Lee crowed while Neji groaned, already seeing what would likely result from this idea.

It was that day that the males of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai found a new found respect for Gaara.

1717171717

The night passed by for the young shinobi, and eventually they started leaving, claiming they had to wake up early to help with repairs on the village and take small missions.

Before Naruto left, he was stopped by Sasuke and Sakura. They wanted to speak to him in private. The blond immediately sensed a tension between his two former teammates, and gave a small grin, "So, what's up?"

Sasuke decided to speak, "Naruto, we were just wondering if you were going to be staying in Konoha..."

Naruto was struck speechless for a minute before he gave a mental slap to his face to knock him out of his trance, "Uh...well, I don't know, really. I mean...I'm a ninja of Konoha _and_ Suna now. I think I may end up staying at both places, switching off every now and then, heheh."

Sakura gave a sigh, "If you want...we can help make sure that your apartment is taken care of."

"You...you guys would do that for me?"

Sasuke gave a nod, "Yeah, as much of a hassle that it would be, you're our friend. We don't want you to be without a place to live in when you're here."

"Well, we could always let you stay with us too, Naruto. Sasuke's got a few spare bedrooms, and my house has a guest room, though it's kind of small. Either that, or I'm sure someone else would be happy to help."

"No, I can't do that to you guys. I don't want to be a bother or anything like-"

"Naruto, I have the entire Uchiha fortune under my name. No offense, but paying rent for your apartment is not a problem." Sasuke spoke as he gave Naruto a small smile, "I know how hard it is being an orphan."

Naruto still wasn't willing to give in just yet. Call it pride that kept him stubborn, "Sasuke, really, there's-"

"Naruto, it's either that or I start moving your stuff into our spare bedroom." Sakura said with a smile, though still she held some firmness in your voice, "Your not just our teammate, you know. You're one of our best friends. Friends help each other, right?"

The blond shinobi gave a sigh, finally giving in, "Fine, but only if I can pay for the apartment while I'm in the village. I don't want anyone paying for it when I'm around, okay?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders while Sakura gave a happy nod, "Fair enough."

"I still don't think this is necessary, but if you two are so hellbent on it, I won't stop you." the Jinchuuriki boy said with a roll of his eyes, "Anyway...I'm leaving tomorrow with Ero-sennin and Gaara to go on some long-term mission. It may be a month, if not a little longer."

"Ero-sennin?" Sakura repeated.

"Jiraiya the Toad Sage." Naruto spoke with a wave of his hand, "He's a total pervert though."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "You're training with one of the Sannin?"

"Yeah, he's the one who helped me learn to better control my chakra as well as...the other chakra." The two nodded in understanding.

"Well, good luck on the mission. No doubt that we'll be receiving our own missions as soon as Konoha is ready for that again." Sakura spoke. She gave Naruto a quick hug, "Take care of yourself, Naruto."

Naruto fought down a blush as Sasuke smirked, "I'll see you soon enough, Naruto."

"Count on it, Sasuke. I still haven't got to spar with you yet."

"Yeah. We'll definitely have to do that." the Uchiha replied with a nod, and gave Naruto's hand a shake after Sakura let go.

Naruto said his goodbyes to the others, and eventually headed back to the hotel with Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari. Gaara sat on his bed and began to meditate as soon as they entered their room while Kankuro turned on the television to see if there was anything worth watching before going to bed. Naruto was stopped though by a hand that held onto his shoulder. He turned to see Temari.

"Hey, Temari." Naruto grinned, already knowing what to expect. Temari wrapped her arms around him while planting a chaste kiss on his lips. His grin grew as she held him for awhile longer.

"I really think that I'm becoming addicted to you." Temari spoke, her voice just above a whisper, "I know I already said it, but it's going to be hard to not have you around for a month."

"I know; I'll miss you too, Temari-chan." Naruto spoke with a smile, his cerulean eyes meeting her teal ones, "Don't worry though, I'll be back before you know it! Maybe you can train with Tenten, Sakura-chan, and the others. Since your a Chunin now, you'll get to do cool missions, right?"

Temari gave a chuckle, "I swear if you weren't so adorable..." She shook her head while giving a tired grin, "Well, I better get to bed. I'll be up in time to see you and Gaara off."

"Alright then, Temari. Good night."

"Good night."

The two slowly parted from each other, and headed to their respective rooms. As Temari closed the door to her room, she let out a rather dreamy sigh. She couldn't help it. He was everything a girl could want in a guy. In her mind, at least, that was the case.

What scared her a bit was the fact that she was already wondering what it'd be like with him in the years to come. Temari never really gave much thought as far as the future went. She focused on what needed to be done, and lived in the present.

Naruto had more or less flipped her world around. He made her appreciate the little things more; sunny days, starry nights, a good joke, a bowl of ramen...stuff like that. She also became closer with her brothers too.

In turn though, she was pretty sure Naruto had changed too. He was more mature, though he still retained that childish demeanor that she couldn't help but love about him. He was more thoughtful of what he said, and he learned what it meant to have someone who cares for you the way she did for him. He also learned a little of what it's like to have a family.

There was one thing that was bothering her though. After the battle, she had gone to talk to Naruto about how he had managed to survive Orochimaru. He was quiet for a moment while a far-off expression etched its way onto his face. He only had those looks on his face when he was thinking about something that he didn't want to really talk about. He then laughed and told her he's just that good, and that the Hokage may be old, but he still 'kicks butt'.

She tried to ask him what was wrong, but he simply shook his head and said it was nothing. She didn't like it when he kept stuff to himself, though he probably had his reasons. Hopefully someday she would find out. Until then, she'd continue to be there for him, and he'd continue to do the same for her.

Throwing off her ninja clothing and putting on a light gown, she crawled into her bed and gave a yawn. She finally felt her body catch up with her, and she felt sleep claim her a short time afterwards.

1717171717

The next morning came quickly for Naruto and Gaara. The blond blinked as a few rays of early morning light poured into the window. He grumbled a bit while turning over in his bed, hoping that he may be able to fall back asleep for a few more minutes.

"Naruto, it's time for us to get ready."

"Nn, fifteen more minutes, Gaara." Naruto said groggily as a hand waved from the pile of blankets.

"Jiraiya-sensei expects us at the gate in an hour."

"He can wait."

The sound of a gourd being uncorked was heard. Naruto's eyes snapped open, and a second later he found himself being yanked from the bed by a tendril of sand. The Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi hung in the air by his ankle as the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi looked to him with a slightly annoyed look, "You got the recommended nine hours of sleep. You're fine."

"Whatever happened to sleeping in?"

Gaara blinked before replying, "Whatever happened to shinobi waking up with the first light of dawn?"

Kankuro, who was sitting at the small table in their room with a cup of coffee, laughed, "Seriously, Gaara; just because you hardly sleep doesn't mean you have to take it out on Naruto."

Gaara sent his older brother a somewhat irritated look before promptly dropping Naruto on the bed unceremoniously, "Fine. We still will be leaving in an hour, so he has to be ready to go."

Naruto clambered out of his bed, and rubbed his eyes while cracking his back a bit, "Ahh...okay, I'm awake! Anything to eat?"

"Granola bars?" Kankuro offered, "Not sure what this stuff is...coffee cake is what the girl down at the kitchen called it...as far as I know it's just bread with raisins and cinnamon. I don't see any coffee beans in it..."

Gaara looked at the sweet breakfast food before nodding, "It's usually served along with coffee in Fire Country, Kankuro. If you had been watching _The World of Dining with Aina-chan_ last week you would have known that."

Kankuro would have said something, but the idea of Gaara watching that damn show with that cute young woman in various dresses traveling the many countries of the world and talking about food just seemed to hilarious at the moment. He instead settled for a smile and light chuckle, "Alright, you got me there, Gaara."

A half hour passed, and the three boys along with Temari and Baki were heading towards the main gate of Konoha. Naruto could see a few familiar faces at the entrance: Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Jiraiya.

"Hey guys." Naruto waved to his teammates, "Here to see me off too?"

Kakashi gave a nod, "We didn't want to miss the two newest celebrities and heroes of the Iwa-Oto Invasion leave without a proper goodbye."

Despite the humor in his voice, Naruto gave a faint blush, "Seriously, all Gaara and I did was what any ninja would do..."

Temari gave Naruto a light smack on the shoulder, "Geez, Naruto, learn to take a compliment. You and Gaara _are_ heroes, just like everyone else who fought for Konoha and Suna's sake. If it wasn't for you two, things could have been a lot worse for the rest of us."

"Temari is right, Naruto. You two, along with the rest of your friends, did a great job in defending Konoha. I just received word from the Fire daimyo that he has increased defenses around the capital as well, thanks in part to all of your efforts in getting that scroll to ANBU." the Sandaime said with a smile, "Naruto, I also owe you my thanks once again. I fear what may have happened had it not been for your help in fighting Orochimaru. So, thank you. I owe you a debt I cannot repay."

Sarutobi gave Naruto a discrete bow, and Naruto began stuttering, "J-Jii-san! You don't need to bow to me! You're the Hokage; it's my job to help you!"

"Hahaha, yes, but it's my job to protect the village. You helped me. I thank you for that, and I truly mean it. You've grown up a lot, Naruto. All of you have." The elderly shinobi spoke, looking to Sasuke and Sakura as well, then to the sand siblings, "Well, I better not keep you two any longer. You have a lot of ground to cover, and the sooner you leave, the better."

Naruto nodded to the man he had seen as a grandfather, "Right, Jii-san." Naruto turned to Temari, "I'll be back sooner than you think, Temari." He wrapped her in a hug, and she returned it with a smile.

"Come back in one piece, baka." she spoke softly, "Take care of Gaara for Kankuro and I while you two are away, alright?"

"I promise." Naruto said while parting a bit from her before letting go. Temari than walked over to Gaara to hug him as well while Kankuro approached the blond.

"Alright, squirt. Whatever you're doing, best of luck to you. Don't go and get in over your head if you get in trouble, got it?"

Naruto grinned while taking the puppet-user's hand and shaking it, "You bet! Later, Kankuro!"

Baki headed over to Naruto and gave him a pat on the shoulders, "Stay sharp, Naruto. I know you and Gaara will do well."

"Right, Baki-sensei."

Naruto noticed Sakura and Sasuke approach him with Kakashi behind them. Naruto placed his hands behind his head while smiling, "Keep Konoha safe while I'm gone."

"Sure thing." Sasuke gave a smirk, "You better get stronger while you're gone. I'll be training hard too."

Kakashi walked over to Naruto, and ruffled the boy's hair a bit. Naruto grumbled while Kakashi just gave him a hidden grin, "I expect that with you being a Chunin that you'll take this mission with great responsibility, alright?"

Naruto gave his former teacher a thumbs up. Sakura simply smiled before she spoke, "Good luck, Naruto. We'll keep a watch over Konoha until you get back!"

Naruto turned to face Jiraiya and Gaara, who were now waiting at the gates. Jiraiya gave Naruto a grin, and Naruto nodded. The three were soon on the road, their friends watching them as they headed out to find the future Hokage of Konoha, and bring a once powerful shinobi back to the Hidden Leaf.

1717171717

A red haired girl watched from a distance as the legendary Toad Sage and two Jinchuuriki exited the main gate of Konoha. She sighed a breath of relief; with those two gone, this would make her job a lot easier.

Hopefully.

Tayuya held a manila folder in her hands, and pulled out a few papers, one which contained false records and a picture of Tayuya wearing a hitai-ite of Kirigakure. She would use the excuse of being a refugee kunoichi who was seeking a safe haven. It was no secret that Kirigakure was still in the midst of a long-running civil war, though the amount of fighting had died down a lot over the past couple of years. She would say that she was a Chunin who had no family, and wanted to start anew.

"I wouldn't have to do this if we had succeeded at invading Konoha..." Tayuya grumbled as she shuffled around in her pack for a band to put her tail in a simple ponytail. The last thing she wanted was to be recognized. She then went through a few seals and opened her eyes to reveal what were once brown now turned to a pale green. She did a finishing touch and changed her dark red hair to a dark brown. Sure, they weren't drastic changes...but sometimes it was simple stuff that proved to work best in the ninja world.

Taking in a deep breath to calm her features, she turned towards the Hokage Tower, and began her trek towards the tall building. She couldn't fail this mission. If she did, she risked getting captured by Konoha, sent to prison, and even executed. Though that was nothing compared to what could happen if she somehow got out of Konoha and returned to Orochimaru. If he found out she had failed...

She let out an involuntary shudder. The screams that echoed in the halls of Oto's torture chambers were not something she enjoyed. Sure, she was a shinobi, but she was still human too. Being human meant she wasn't a fan of experiencing death.

"This damn Uchiha better be worth all this trouble..." she grumbled, tucking the manila folder back into her pack. If all went well, she would then find an apartment, reside in Konoha for awhile, and give reports on the Uchiha to the Snake Sannin. If she could, she'd even try and get on the same team as him. She had ways of convincing people to see her side of things.

A small smirk crossed her face, and she continued onward.

1717171717

"Ero-sennin, who exactly is the person we're looking for?"

Jiraiya turned to face his blond pupil, and gave a small grin, "Tsunade, the Slug Sannin. She's one of the greatest medical shinobi in the Elemental Countries, and has amazing skill." Jiraiya dug in one of his pockets, and handed a picture to the two young Chunin.

Gaara raised an eyebrow, "It's hard to believe that she's around your age, Jiraiya-sensei."

Naruto grinned, "Heheh...she's got a nice...wait, what do you mean, Gaara?"

"She's around fifty years of age." Jiraiya stated with a smug grin, "She's constantly under a henge, making her appear younger. This picture is the most recent one I have of her. She may be a bit older in appearance now, though I can't be sure."

Naruto seemed to deflate upon hearing this, "Dang. She has a good body, too."

Gaara, like Naruto, was still staring at the picture, "Agreed."

Jiraiya laughed, "Hahaha! Tsunade being swooned over by two young men; I don't know whether she would be embarrassed, angry, or happy about this! Hahaha!" The Sannin continued down the road, "Come on, now! We're burning daylight here, and our first stop is a good seventeen miles from here."

"Can't we just run there?" Naruto asked with an annoyed sigh.

"Of course not! We need to conserve our energy for the evening!"

Gaara's face reflected the slightest hint of confusion, "Why do we need to do that?"

The two younger males felt perturbed as Jiraiya's grin grew, "Because, the loveliest ladies are the ones who live the nightlife! Hehehehe."

"Temari would flay me alive if she saw me with another woman..."

Gaara gave a nod, "She wouldn't approve of me walking the red light districts."

Jiraiya frowned, "Haven't you boys ever heard of keeping things to yourselves?"

"It's hard to lie to Temari-chan." Naruto replied, "That, and Sakura-chan wouldn't be happy about that either."

"I remember her once hanging Kankuro to a flagpole by his briefs..." Gaara spoke, "Though...I think that was because he was hitting on the Wind daimyo's daughter when her family stopped in the village once."

Both boys were quiet as they tried to shake the mental image away of Kankuro crying while hanging from a flagpole while Temari cackled like a maniac.

Jiraiya sighed, "Well, if that's the case, I'll just introduce you to a few of the...gentler women. Besides that, I'll be teaching both of you as well. Speaking of which," the Sannin dug into another pocket and tossed a scroll to Gaara, "Start reading that."

Gaara opened up the scroll, "_Basic Fuuinjutsu for Aspiring Seal Makers_? Jiraiya-sensei, you wish for me to learn sealing techniques?"

"Not just you. Naruto will be studying alongside you until I find the right supplies to get you both going on separate training schedules. Considering the both of you are unique due to seals placed on you, I think it would only make sense that you learn to better understand the ways of sealing."

It wasn't long before the two Chunin were trailing behind Jiraiya while reading up on the scroll. Jiraiya glanced behind him while a small grin played on his features. He knew that while it would be taxing on his patience to deal with the two-namely Naruto-he still would enjoy this trip as well. The two boys were quick at absorbing information, especially when it came to techniques. They were a good pair as far as helping each other learn; Gaara was good at helping Naruto maintain his patience, and Naruto was good at helping motivate Gaara to learn other techniques outside of using his sand.

Yes, this would definitely be a worthwhile trip.

**End of Chapter Seventeen: Here we go, finally updated again, heh. Well, anyway, Naruto, Gaara, and Jiraiya have begun the search for Tsunade. It should prove to be entertaining with the two Jinchuuriki tagging along with Jiraiya. I have a few ideas planned on what will be different now that Jiraiya has taken **_**two**_** students instead of just Naruto, especially on Gaara's part. Well, as always, thanks for reading!**


	18. The Bet

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto. Maybe I should start sending Kishimoto mail to bargain a deal with him...think of it; an AU Naruto manga! Well...anyway, Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto, and I do not.**

**Chap. 18: The Bet**

"Toramaru's Principle still confuses the hell out of me."

Gaara gave a nod, "I agree; he says that 'While the seal's design is what determines space dimensions, the amount of chakra put into the seal can overcome this problem.'"

"I think it's a bunch of crap."

"I'm glad that I'm not the only one that thinks so." replied Gaara.

Jiraiya sighed as he took a swig of water from a canteen, "Toramaru's Principle was challenged and proven false forty years ago, boys."

The two looked up from the scroll, and Naruto grumbled, "What do you mean? Why are we reading this, then?"

"It's good for historical purposes too, you dolt." Jiraiya snapped, "If you want a real principle on sealing and storage, look up the Dimension Proportions Principle by Suzumi Ayashi. She knew her stuff...until she went mad, cut off her arm, sealed it in a scroll, and then died from blood loss..."

The Jinchuuriki boys didn't know if the Sannin was kidding or being serious, so instead settled for reading up on the recommended principle. About ten minutes later, Jiraiya got up from the tree they were sitting under, "Alright, time to go. Our next stop is just beyond the next hill. It's also where I'll give you your first steps in training."

"Perverted training, or real training?" Naruto asked with a suspicious look.

"Real trai-hey! My training is _not_ perverted! It's essential to getting information!"

"..."

"Geesh, when I was your age I would have killed for adventures like this!" Jiraiya mumbled while walking down the road, "Come on now. Let's move."

The two Chunin followed behind their teacher, still delving into the large scroll while speaking in lowered tones as they looked over the material. About fifteen minutes later, they found themselves at the gates of a decent sized town. There were a few bars lining the streets, and a casino or two.

"Cripes, every other one of these towns has a casino and at least three bars within the first two blocks of the front gate." Naruto grumbled.

"I see a brothel at the end of the street," Gaara spoke in a hushed tone, "Let's get Jiraiya-sensei to tell us about training before he runs off."

Naruto gave a nod before speaking up, "Hey, Ero-sennin, what are we doing for training?"

The white haired shinobi turned to face his two pupils, then smirked, "Right. Follow me."

They were soon in the in a small store, and Jiraiya purchased several water balloons, a basket of rubber balls, and a bag of marbles. The trio exited the store, and went towards a park outside of the town. He handed Naruto a balloon after filling it with water in a nearby water fountain, and then gave Gaara a single marble. He grinned at the two as they stared at their respective objects in a confused manner.

"A water balloon...?"

"Why do I have a marble?"

"The **_Rasengan_** and **_Genkoudanpen no Jutsu_**!" Jiraiya replied with a dramatic pose, "Two very destructive techniques!"

"..."

"I'm going to teach them to you!!"

The two nodded while suddenly becoming more attentive.

Jiraiya sighed while walking over to a large boulder. He opened up a palm, and a blue swirling mass began to form in it. It condensed a bit before forming a perfect sphere, and he pulled back his open palm while shouting, "**_Rasengan_**!!!"

The boulder shattered in an explosion of raw power as Jiraiya dusted himself off. Both Naruto and Gaara looked at the minor degree of destruction caused by the small sphere that Jiraiya had in his hands only moments ago.

"Whoa!!! That was amazing!!!" Naruto shouted as he walked up to his sensei.

"Good, you're the one who's going to learn it." Jiraiya smiled before looking to Gaara, "Alright, Gaara, now, this one is a bit more complex, but I think it's right up your alley as far as techniques go. Watch."

Jiraiya took a few steps away from his two students before facing a second boulder. He made a few seals before gently pressing his right hand to the ground, "**_Doton: Genkoudanpen no Jutsu_**!!"

A second later, and several projectiles burst from the ground before flying into the targeted boulder. They lodged into it before the giant mass of rock burst into pieces. The area rained of rubble as Jiraiya let out a sigh, "Phew, been awhile since I've done that one. I was worried that I had gotten rusty."

"That's an interesting technique." Gaara spoke up, "The projectiles burst after hitting their target, didn't they?"

"Yep, hence the name 'Mineral Shrapnel' jutsu. It's good for taking out multiple enemies at one time, but it requires more time and concentration. Considering your sand already works as a primary defense, even without you thinking about it, you should have enough time and protection for the justu.

"So...how do we perform the techniques?" Naruto asked.

"Glad you asked," the Sannin replied, "Alright, now, Naruto, first I want you to take that balloon and hold it in your throwing arm..."

1818181818

"T-Tsunade-sama! Where are we going??"

"No time, we're cutting town again."

"Ehhh??? Already? Tsunade-sama, I thought we agreed that we weren't going to be gambling this time!"

A beautiful blond woman turned to face her companion, "Shizune, we're leaving. Get your things."

Shizune sighed before picking up the small pig following her. Shizune looked to see Tsunade was already heading for their hotel, "Tonton, I swear, I don't know how much longer I can take this constant travel."

"Oiiink."

1818181818

Naruto and Gaara had spent the last few hours in the park outside of the main village area, struggling to accomplish the first step in mastering the techniques Jiraiya had presented to them.

"Rotate the water...rotate...come on, pop...pop...pop, damn you..." Naruto grumbled while holding the water balloon in his hands. "Damn it, how the hell am I supposed to pop a balloon and spin the water around while I'm at it?!"

Gaara, who was having an only slightly easier time, looked to his blond friend, "Have you tried rotating the water the other way?"

"Um...no...though I have to spin the chakra in different directions, remember?" the blond replied.

"Try focusing differently. Focus on one direction first, then the other. Focus on the opposite directions that you are right now." Gaara replied before turning back to the marble in his hands. He closed his eyes before pressing the marble into the dirt a bit, then let a layer of earth cover the marble. He continued to keep his eyes closed as he made a few seals while the marble began to move a bit, "**_Doton: Genkoudanpan no Jutsu_**!"

The marble flew into the air before crashing into a boulder and creating a minor dent in the rock. Gaara frowned before walking over to assess the damage.

Jiraiya had given Gaara the instructions to create a shell of earth around the marble, launch it at a rock, and be able to maintain the shell around the marble without it crumbling apart. So far, he had only managed to maintain about half of the covering around the marble after it hit. It was arduous, but he was slowly making progress.

"Hey, Gaara...maybe you should try and call on harder stuff in the ground."

"I could...but it would take much more chakra to do that, and then maintain the shell. Jiraiya-sensei was able to shatter that boulder with just a bit of clay and topsoil." Gaara replied.

"Well, yeah, but that's because he's experienced, and probably is better at using less energy to get the same effect. I mean...yeah, he's perverted, but he's still strong, right?"

Gaara nodded, "That's true. I'll try it."

So Naruto and Gaara took each other's advice; Naruto focusing on the opposite spinning directions that he had been, and Gaara calling on harder materials to work with.

As if it was a message from a higher power, the two simultaneously got the desired effects.

_Pop! Splash!!_

_Crack!!!_

Naruto looked at the popped water balloon in his hands, and whooped in triumph, "Hahaaa!!! Yeah, I did it, Gaara!!!"

Gaara, meanwhile, smirked a bit as he looked to see the marble projectile still had it's earthen coating covering it while it remained lodged in the boulder.

"Nice work you two."

The two Chunin looked to see their sensei smiling at them proudly, "Hey, Ero-sennin! I did it!!"

"I was watching. Gaara gave you a good suggestion. You were trying to force chakra out of your body in a way that went against your natural flow. I don't know how he managed to explain like he did, but it worked." He turned to Gaara, "As for you, Gaara, Naruto also proved to be smart in what he suggested. It's true that I used softer material from the earth, but you're still learning, so using harder material was needed to maintain the shell around the marble. It may be more difficult, but it'll get easier if you keep at it."

Jiraiya then tossed Naruto a rubber ball, and gave Gaara several more marbles. The two boys looked to their materials, and knew that they weren't over yet.

1818181818

A week had gone by for the two boys since they completed the first steps of their jutsu training; two and a half weeks since they had left the village. After several hours in another village in western Fire Country, and about four hours in attempting to complete their respective second steps in the techniques they were learning, they had decided to call it a day for some food.

Naruto had once again been instructed to pop a container, this time the rubber ball, which was much more difficult on several accounts. One, rubber is thicker than a balloon. Second, air and water are two separate things, and as such, denser and more powerful chakra was needed in order to accomplish this. When Jiraiya had instructed Naruto to pop it, he meant to make it explode. Naruto had, at best, managed to cause the rubber to rip open and slowly leak out air. That was not powerful at all.

Gaara, on the other hand, had been given several dozen marbles this time. He was to first coat them all in the earthen coating before combining the marbles into groups, and then encase them within a similar earthen coating. The result would be for the larger projectiles to still impact the boulders before exploding, sending the smaller marbles in various directions as well. It proved to be much harder for the sand user.

Right now, though, the two boys were enjoying a good meal of steamed rice, vegetables, and pork with some water and juice.

"You know, I'm starting to think that Ero-sennin is shirking his duty to train us so he can go and be a pervert." Naruto pointed out while jabbing his chopsticks into a piece of eggplant, "I mean, come on, we haven't seen him at all today aside from when we woke up this morning!"

"You may be onto something..." Gaara spoke as he looked at his pork with some slight dissatisfaction, "...they overcooked the the meat a little."

"Eh, just put some curry on it."

Gaara gave Naruto a skeptical look, "You do realize that this style of food isn't meant-"

"Okay, okay, sorry. I forgot I was speaking to the _expert_ of cuisine...geesh."

The two were quiet for a moment before Gaara looked to Naruto, "Could you pass the curry, please?"

After they finished eating and paying their bill, the two headed out to walk for awhile. It wasn't long before they started passing by various bars and less desirable businesses of the sort. That's when they heard it.

Raucous laughter. The kind of laughter of a man that had been through every bar and brothel from River Country to Wave. The laughter of...

"Ero-sennin." Naruto growled, heading towards a particular tavern that had a sign with a peppy young waitress smiling on it.

Gaara knew that if he left Naruto to his own devices, he'd either get kicked out of the tavern, or worse. He followed his blond friend, hoping that Naruto would keep his cool.

The two Chunin walked into the tavern, and were immediately assaulted by the smell of tobacco smoke and cheap sake. Naruto scrunched his nose up while Gaara gave a grunt, "Jiraiya-sensei's over there."

Sure enough, there was the Toad Sage, laughing like no tomorrow while three lovely women with just a hint of makeup on, and a fine layer of eye shadow. If you asked anyone though, the makeup wasn't really necessary to make them look good.

"So yeah, I'm training two boys right now personally. They're great kids, but they need to learn to loosen up a bit and learn to relax. All they ever talk about is training and finding my old teammate! It gets exhausting!"

"Oh, that's sweet of you, Jiraiya-sama! Teaching two younger shinobi your secrets! You're so kind!" spoke one of the girls in a sugar-coated voice.

"Ugh, get me a pail, Gaara. I feel my dinner coming back." Naruto commented as they walked over to the table. Naruto slammed his hands on the wooden surface, startling the women and causing Jiraiya to snap his head towards the noise. Sure enough, the man had a rosy tinge to his cheeks, but seemed for the most part rather coherent.

"Naruto! Gaara! Hey, I was just telling these three lovely ladies here about you guys! How was training today?" Jiraiya asked as he grinned.

"It'd be going better if you were around when we needed the help!"

"Ah ah, now Naruto, the best way to learn something is through time and patience. You'll get the hang of it. Besides, you and Gaara are a great help to each other, right?"

Gaara noted one of the women looking at him. When he made eye contact, she winked. Gaara raised an eyebrow before taking an unconscious step closer to Naruto. "Jiraiya-sensei, how much longer are we going to be in town?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "That depends. I've narrowed down the area Tsunade is in to this place. She's probably only going to be in town for another day or so. We've been on her trail for a few days now, and I'm guessing that we'll find her soon enough." He let a grin spread across his face, "So, would you two care to join us for a bit?"

The three women smiled at the boys the way someone does when they see an adorable animal. Okay, that one woman seemed to be finding Gaara rather interesting, but that was different, "Er...sorry, Ero-sennin, we have to go and-"

"Bah! Come on! You boys have been working yourselves to the bone lately! Live life a little and relax." He rubbed his chin before grinning, "Tell you what? I'll help you boys tomorrow if you do."

Damn, he just had to throw the trump card out at them, didn't he? Naruto looked to Gaara, giving him a questioning look. Gaara simply shrugged his shoulders, and the two nodded, "Whatever..."

Naruto sat next to a rather cheery brunette while Gaara sat next to a woman with sandy-brown colored hair; the same one that had been winking at him. The two made sure to sit at the very edges of their seats, just in case they needed to make a break for it.

A black haired girl who sat between Jiraiya and the brunette smiled at Naruto, "You don't see to many blond haired people in Fire Country. What's your name?"

Naruto looked to the woman before giving her a forced grin, "N-Naruto."

The woman giggled, and leaned close to the brunette and whispered something in her ear. The brunette gave a gasp before laughing and slapping the black haired woman playfully on the shoulder.

"You know, I remember one time when I was in Grass Country, and I had to spend a week in the plains while hiding from enemy ninja. Oh boy, let me tell you, I never thought I'd make it out of there in one piece, but I did."

The three women eventually started returning to their conversation with the sage, while occasionally throwing a question over to the boys. More than once Gaara felt the woman run a hand through his hair, though he was guessing that if the faint smell of sake on her breath was any indication, she was just tipsy enough to find the feel of hair relaxing.

An hour later, and the two were actually talking casually with the other three.

"Yeah, Gaara and I helped defeat the Hidden Rock and Hidden Sound ninja that tried to invade Konoha. It was pretty easy once we broke through their main defenses, looking back on it now." Naruto said as the women listened with rapt attention.

"Oh my gosh, really? Wow, you two are so brave!" The sandy-brown haired woman said before looking to Gaara, "Did you guys get hurt at all?"

"N-not really..." Gaara replied as he felt the woman rub a cheek against his head. A moment later he heard light snoring.

The black haired girl giggled softly, "Sorry, Gaara-kun. Kura's never been good at staying awake after getting a few in her." She sighed before getting up from her spot by Jiraiya and lifting her up with relative ease. The brunette laughed a bit before getting up as well.

"Well, Naruto-kun, it was fun meeting you!" She gave him a hug before helping her friend carry their sleeping friend out of the bar, "Bye, Jiraiya-sama! It was good talking with you again!"

"Haha! Take care now, ladies!" Jiraiya waved with a grin. As they left, he turned to his two pupils and gave them a smug grin, "I'm glad you stayed. Those three are some of my most trusted contacts in this part of Fire Country."

Naruto and Gaara blinked before the blond spoke, "Wait, you mean...those three women are actually spies?"

"Sort of. They used to be kunoichi from Amegakure, but left after the village plunged into civil unrest. They keep me informed on the happenings in this region. I was hoping I'd get to introduce you to them before it got too late. They leave tomorrow morning."

"So they were actually shinobi. That would explain how they had such an easy time carrying their friend out of here." Gaara noted with nod, "Usually a passed out adult takes more of an effort to carry around like that."

"So...you weren't just being a pervert?"

Jiraiya gave Naruto a flat look, "Hey, I can be refined when I want, gaki."

Gaara looked to the doorway they had exited from, "That one woman seemed a bit...clingy."

"Yeah, Kura's always been like that. If it wasn't for Miya and Tama, I doubt she'd ever leave the tavern. Needless to say, they were happy to talk to you both from the way they were acting. I had been talking to them earlier about some information, so we decided to just enjoy a drink or two." the Toad Sage responded before getting up himself, "Well, we better get back to the inn. We'll need to get up early tomorrow so we can train for awhile before we go and find Tsunade. I have a hunch as to where she's staying at in this town, so we'll probably find her tomorrow."

With that, the trio left the bar, and headed out to get some rest. No doubt that the task of getting Tsunade to return to the village alone would be a night's worth of rest.

1818181818

"I don't know what to make of them. You?"

Kakashi looked across the street to the two men in black cloaks with red cloud patterns, "You're guess is as good as mine, Asuma."

Kurenai, Kakashi, and Asuma stood by a dango stand, chewing on their dumplings in a nonchalant manner while casting a wary eye over to the strangers, "Their outfits fits the description that Jiraiya-sama gave."

Asuma looked to Kurenai, and grunted in agreement, "I take it they're already aware that we notice them."

"Well of course. In fact, they probably can hear us right now." Kakashi replied with a dry chuckle, "After all, that's the great Itachi Uchiha. He was one of the best."

It was no surprise to see the two strangers finish their tea quickly before getting up and heading out. Kakashi swore for a brief moment that he saw the reflection of red in the pupils of the otherwise hidden face of the shorter person, "Let's move."

"Right." Asuma and Kurenai spoke. They jumped off and followed the two from a distance.

1818181818

"Looks like we're being followed, Itachi."

"We are."

The two men stopped at a river, and turned to see three Jounin, "It's been awhile, Itachi."

"Ah, Kakashi-sempai. I thought I recognized your face earlier..."

"Very funny, Itachi. I see you haven't lost your subtle humor." Kakashi spoke as he lifted his hitai-ite over his left eye while keeping it closed.

The taller of the two strangers gave a toothy grin to his partner, "Itachi, you know these three?"

"Yes. Kakashi-sempai and I were in ANBU. Asuma was well known even when I was young, and Kurenai had a great amount of potential in genjutsu from what I remember." the eldest of the Uchiha brothers replied, "Kisame, don't underestimate them."

"Heh, of course, of course. Which one you want?"

The two didn't have a chance to decide as Asuma made a rush to the missing-nin of Kirigakure. He pulled out his trench knives and made a move to cut Kisame at the throat.

It was within the blink of an eye that the Sarutobi's knives met with one of the oddest swords he had ever seen. It looked like it was scaled, now that he got a good look at it. The large bundle that had been on the blue-skinned man's back was in reality though, a sword. One of the legendary seven swords, to be more precise. The chakra eating blade, Samehada.

"Well, so the stories are true. You're Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. I guess I should feel a little humbled."

"Glad to see that my reputation is still as strong as ever." Kisame replied as he pushed the bearded Jounin away, "Heheh, I think I'm going to enjoy this."

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Kurenai were working together to try and take out Itachi. Kurenai had seemingly vanished from sight as Kakashi kept the Uchiha busy with a rather intense battle of taijutsu and ninjutsu.

"I have to admit, Itachi, you have a lot of gull coming back here like this..." Kakashi spoke as his Sharingan glared into the Uchiha's own red pupils, "...you're here for Naruto, aren't you? How much lower can you stoop? Trying to kidnap the very boy that you once helped watch over."

"That was my duty as an ANBU. He never knew me by my face, only by voice and my codename. It makes no difference either way. Naruto is our target, and we-" Itachi moved just in time to avoid a kunai that would have plunged into his back. Kurenai reappeared, her concealing genjutsu dispelled as she moved to Kakashi's side. A moment later, a rather annoyed Asuma joined their side as well.

"That Kisame is strong. His sword has been eating away at the chakra I pump into my knives. I only managed to cut his cheek."

Kakashi watched the two nuke-nin as they stood over the water, "I'm afraid we'll have to end this." Itachi spoke before raising his head to face Kakashi directly. Kakashi closed his right eye while his Sharingan continued to bore into the Uchiha's own eyes, "You cannot defeat these eyes."

"Close your eyes! Now!"

Asuma and Kurenai did as he said while Kakashi continued his staring match with Itachi.

Itachi closed his eyes before reopening them, the three tomoe changing into something different, "Mangekyou Sharingan..." Itachi spoke in a grave tone.

_"So this is the Mangekyou Sharingan? His eyes...they've changed...I just hope I can stand up against this powerful kekkai genkai..."_

Itachi wasn't through yet, "_**Tsukuyomi**_."

1818181818

Kakashi's eyes widened before he blacked out. A second later, he opened them to reveal a world of red skies, a red moon, and black and white scenery. He looked around to see that we was strapped to a wooden board. Itachi stood before him, sword in hand.

"Where am I? Is this...genjutsu?"

"Not just any genjutsu. The most powerful visual genjutsu. With _**Tsukuyomi**_, I can make seconds seem like hours, control matter and space, and even create realistic pain. _This_ world..." Itachi raised his blade as other copies of himself appeared, "...is mine to control."

Steel ran through Kakashi's abdomen. He grunted in pain, and looked to see Itachi staring at him impassively. Two more copies of him stood before him, "You...bastard..."

"For the next seventy-two hours, I will continue to impale you like this. You will not die, you will only feel pain. I will kill the pain, and then you will relive it all over again."

Three swords ran through his stomach this time, and Kakashi coughed up blood before looking into Itachi's eyes, defiance and determination evident in his features, "Th-this...won't defeat me. I won't let you harm...Naruto..."

"Seventy-one hours and fifty-eight seconds to go..." Itachi replied, slamming four swords into Kakashi this time. The Jounin cried out in pain as he felt the cold hard steel rack pain through his false body.

Kakashi swore he felt an eternity pass by. Itachi had healed his injuries on several occasions before restoring his body to perfect health. At one point-Kakashi had lost count of the time-he heard Itachi speak.

"There are things you don't understand, Kakashi-sempai. Things that are best left unsaid until the time is right. There is more to Konoha's history than is told."

Kakashi raised his weary head, eyes barely remaining open as he managed to speak, "Wha...?"

"Ten seconds remain..."

1818181818

Kakashi opened his eyes again as the world returned to normal. He was still by Kurenai and Asuma. He hadn't moved an inch. No one had.

"All...that...in...only a few seconds?" Kakashi breathed, his mind slipping into unconsciousness.

Asuma caught Kakashi before he fell into the water, and placed him on the pathway lining the river. He looked to Kurenai, "We have to end this, and quickly."

"Right..." Kurenai spoke, preparing a genjutsu as Asuma raised his knives.

"_**Dynamic Entry**_!!!"

The group looked to see a green blur flying towards them. Kisame raised his blade, only to crash into a nearby bridge. He managed to stay on top of the water, glaring heatedly at the new arrival, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Maito Gai, Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast!" Gai turned a bit to face Asuma and Kurenai, "Is Kakashi okay?"

"I think so. He was hit by a genjutsu, or at least that's what it seems like." Kurenai replied, holding the kunai in her hands while facing the enemy, "It all happened too fast to tell."

Gai nodded, "It was probably Itachi's Sharingan. Making eye contact with him alone is enough to throw you into one of his illusions. If you're going to fight him, you have to keep an eye on his feet, not his face."

The other two Jounin nodded warily, both preparing for the next attack when Itachi spoke, "Kisame, we've stayed too long. We're pulling out before we're noticed by too many people."

"Hm. What a shame, I was getting into this too." Kisame chuckled, looking to Gai and Asuma, "You...I'll remember you two."

The two disappeared with a quick _**Shunshin**_, leaving the three able-bodied Jounin on the water with Kakashi unconscious on the walkway. Kurenai let out a sigh of relief while Asuma grumbled, lighting up a cigarette. Gai looked around a bit before giving a nod, "Right...I'll take Kakashi to the hospital."

"We'll go report this to my old man right away, then." Asuma replied. A minute later the area was void of any people, and aside from a few shattered boards on the bridge, and a dent in the concrete, one would have never guessed that a fight between Akatsuki and Konoha-nin ever took place.

1818181818

It was around noon when Jiraiya had called it a day for the boy's training. They had improved a little, but they had yet to complete their training. Naruto had managed to get the ball to _tear_ open, but not burst. Gaara had managed to use actual rock instead of marbles, and was able to have the projectiles stay condensed when he launched them...but they always seemed to fall apart when they hit the object instead of lodging into the target.

"Can't we practice for a few more hours? I swear I'm close to getting it down, Ero-sennin!"

"I agree; I think I can get the rocks to stay together if I just have a bit more time to train, Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya, who was walking ahead, felt himself smile a bit. He admired the work ethic of his two students...though he still had to play the role of the tough sensei, "No. We're going to town to find Tsunade. I have a good lead on her, and if I'm right, she's at a restaurant located in a small inn. Time is of the essence right now, so we can't afford to dawdle around."

1818181818

"Come on, it's been close to four hours and we still haven't found her! That last restaurant said they've never seen her before!" Naruto groaned as he and Gaara continued following their sensei.

"Easy, Naruto. This kind of stuff takes time. Don't forget that Tsunade is a shinobi; she knows how to hide when the time calls for it. A lesser man would have lost her trail weeks ago." The Toad Sage replied, "You also forget how many other buildings said they saw her in passing with a brunette and a small pig. She's likely with Shizune and her pet pig Tonton."

"Shizune?" Gaara repeated.

"Yeah, the niece of a man that Tsunade had a deep relationship with. After he got killed during a mission, Tsunade took in Shizune as her apprentice and kind of adopted her. She's a really kind girl, if I remember correctly...though...how old is she now? Probably in her late twenties...." Jiraiya shook his head, "The point is, Shizune and Tsunade are still in town, so we've got to monopolize on this while we can."

"Fine...this lady better be worth all the time we're wasting that could be used for training..." Naruto grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

About another two hours of walking lead Jiraiya lead the trio down the main street of the town. Jiraiya was about to turn down one of the smaller roads when he suddenly stopped as he looked through a window of a small tavern. He smirked, "Bingo. Naruto...Gaara...we found our targets."

"We have?" Naruto asked, "Where?"

"Right in there." Jiraiya replied, jerking a thumb into the window. Sure enough, Gaara and Naruto saw the blond woman and her apprentice, as well as a pig wearing an odd vest of sorts.

"Huh. Well, it took long enough. Let's go in and-"

"Hold it, Naruto. This is Tsunade we're talking about. She's really cautious, and if some random kid goes and tells her to come back to Konoha, she's going to be suspicious." Jiraiya smoothed back a few strands of hair and smiled, "Let me do the talking. You two just stay by my side and keep quiet unless spoken to."

As they walked into the tavern, Gaara turned to Naruto, "Do you have a bad feeling too?"

Naruto simply nodded, "Yeah, my bad-situation-caused-by-Ero-sennin sense is going haywire."

1818181818

"Tsunade-sama, perhaps you should call it a night. That's your second bottle, and that stuff isn't cheap..." Shizune suggested, already knowing the reply.

"Don't worry about it, Shizune. We made some money, and I wanted to spend it. Besides, I bought this for both of us, remember?"

"I...yes, but still..."

"Well, if it isn't Tsunade! What a coincidence!"

Tsunade looked up, her eyes as wide as possible before she regained her cool expression, "Jiraiya? What are _you_ doing here?"

Jiraiya grinned as he sat down on the other end of the booth while Naruto and Gaara sat behind the booth next to them, acting as though they were simply here to eat and unaware of the three behind them, "Well, I just happened to be in the neighborhood, and thought I'd-"

"Cut the crap; what do you want?"

Jiraiya's grin disappeared, "Hmph, as tsundere as ever, huh?" He smirked a bit while shaking his head, "Come back to Konoha."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "That better be a joke. You know as well as I do that I'm never going back to that thankless village. They took Dan and Nawaki from me. They won't get my life as well."

"Tsunade, Sarutobi-sensei was almost killed. Orochimaru attacked Konoha, and almost succeeded in invading the village.."

"I already know that. The old fool went and tried to be the hero and fight by himself, didn't he?"

The sound of growling was heard from the booth next to them before Jiraiya continued, "Tsunade, look...the village needs a new leader, and they need one now. Iwagakure is at war with us along with Otogakure."

"Iwa?" Tsunade asked, raising her eyes to his, "I wasn't informed of this."

"Informed? By who?"

Tsunade took a drink before she replied, "Orochimaru."

Jiraiya's hands clenched into fists, "What? You saw him?! When?"

"No more than two days ago. He came, asking for me to heal his arms."

"What did you do?"

"I said I'll think about it. He agreed, and gave me time, telling me to meet up with him at a spot in town in nine days' time." the Slug Sannin responded calmly, ignoring Jiraiya's glowering look, "He seemed pretty bad. What happened to him?"

"He brought back the Shodaime, Nidaime, and Yondaime using kinjutsu. Minato must have been too much to handle, though, somehow using a sealing technique I didn't see, and made the snake's arms as they appeared; gone."

"Minato? I thought that he was-"

"There's a lot to the _**Shiki Fuujin**_ that we don't understand, Tsunade." spoke the Toad Sannin, taking a glass and filling it, "By the way, in case you were wondering, his son is alive and well. Fought the snake as well, gave a good fight against your grand uncle."

Tsunade spit out her alcohol, "You lie!"

"Nope, it's true. Surely you heard the rumors that two Genin stopped the Hidden Rock's forces from getting into Konoha, haven't you?"

Shizune instead spoke, "There have been rumors...but, there so varied that we don't know what's true and what's false."

"Minato's boy was one of the two Genin. The other was Gaara of Suna."

"Ha! Like two snot-nosed Genin could possibly be a challenge for an entire invasive force."

Jiraiya chuckled as he heard his pupil behind him mutter 'old hag' under his breath. Gaara gave a grunt of agreement, "Regardless, Konoha's in need of a new Hokage, since the old man plans on stepping down. I was offered the position, but thought you'd be better suited for it."

"Why the hell would I want that job? Every person who took it was a fool! A damned fool protecting an ignorant village!" Tsunade snapped, "Two died in a war, one was almost killed by his student and is already beyond his years and still leading..."

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune spoke quietly, seeing Jiraiya shaking his head.

"...and Minato, he was one of the biggest fools of them all, going and-"

It happened in an instant; Naruto jumped out of his chair while Jiraiya tried to hold him back, sake was spilled on the table and plates of food were thrown onto the floor. Tsunade found herself face to face with a pissed off Naruto Uzumaki, his fist being held back by Gaara's sand as the blond Chunin gave her an enraged glare, "You take that back!!! My dad was _not_ a fool!! He was the greatest Hokage ever!!"

Tsunade's eyes fell upon the blond hair, then the blue eyes, then the whisker marks, "Who the hell are you?"

"The one who's going to kick your sorry-" A hand was put over Naruto's mouth before he could finish.

Jiraiya pulled Naruto back as Gaara corked his sand, "Naruto, I said to stay quiet! Geesh...you're lucky that this place is practically empty right now." Jiraiya looked to the still somewhat confused Tsunade, "Meet Naruto...the Yondaime Hokage's legacy..." He sighed while running a hand down his face, "Not exactly how I planned for this to go, but, I guess at least now you're acquainted, right?"

Naruto spoke up yet again, this time to Jiraiya, "Ero-sennin, if she's really the one we've been after all this time then we've wasted time! She's the last person I'd want as Hokage!! She doesn't even respect them, damn it! You heard what she said! It's bad enough she insults Konoha, but the Hokage too?!"

Tsunade actually felt a twinge of shame as she looked at the angry blond before her, "You're Minato's boy, huh?"

"You better believe it, you old hag!!!"

The temperature of the restaurant seemed to drop several degrees as Tsunade's calm expression seemed to become more serious, "_What_...did you call me?"

"I called you an ol-mpph mmmh!" Naruto's mouth was once again covered by Jiraiya's hand, who was instinctively pulling Naruto from his chair while Tsunade continued to glare daggers at the boy. Shizune was trembling in place while Tonton shook in her lap. Even Gaara seemed to be backing off a bit as he felt a rising killer intent.

"You. Loud-mouth. Outside. Now." Tsunade spoke before getting up from her spot and walking out the door. Shizune was biting her thumb a little before she hesitantly followed the Sannin outside.

"Heh, I'll show her a thing or two!" Naruto declared before following Tsunade as well.

"Aren't you going to interfere and stop him?" Gaara asked his teacher. Jiraiya shook his head.

"Nope; this will be a great learning experience for you and Naruto to see why Tsunade is so famous among the Sannin."

Gaara was torn now; protect his good friend from getting in way over his head with a battle between one of the Legendary Sannin, or watch and see his good friend get beaten like a rag doll by one of the Legendary Sannin.

Needless to say, Gaara was soon following Jiraiya as the Toad Sage pulled out his notebook, humming as he wrote some notes.

1818181818

Tayuya stood before the current leader of Konohagakure, his gaze seeming to pierce through her very soul as he calmly smiled, "So...Tayuya, is it? Why did you leave Kirigakure, if you don't mind me asking?"

Tayuya nodded, her expression was a bit strained, as though trying to suppress a bad memory,"My family was killed during the civil war in Hidden Mist, Hokage-sama. I...I'm tired of the senseless violence. I wanted to find a new home, and get away from there. Call it cowardice, or morals, but I refuse to serve a country that purges out others based on something like kekkai genkai."

"I see. I'm sorry that you had to deal with such a tragedy at your young age, though such is the life of a ninja." Hiruzen spoke quietly, "Tayuya, I will give you a chance to prove yourself as a possible kunoichi of Konoha. You're record is quite admirable for a first year Chunin; you've taken thirty-two D-rank missions, sixteen C-rank missions, and ten B-rank. Konoha is in need of all the manpower it can muster, and having more capable shinobi join our cause is welcome. I'll place you on a team and give you probationary status until I see you fit to be given full shinobi rank."

"Oh! Th-thank you, Hokage-sama!" Tayuya bowed deeply, "I'm in your debt!"

"Haha, no need for that, Tayuya. Now, let us get down to the business of getting you settled somewhere in Konoha."

Tayuya smiled a little, "Right. I'll be willing to deal with minimal accommodations, if necessary, Hokage-sama."

She had to give herself a silent applause; she had managed to pull of this whole 'good kunoichi wanting to start over' act pretty well. At this rate, getting information on Sasuke Uchiha would be a breeze. She could probably even convince him to follow her back to Otogakure and call off the plan with the other four if the right conditions occurred.

For now she accepted her single bedroom apartment a block away from the house that she later would find out was where Sakura Haruno, the female member of Sasuke Uchiha's team, lived. She didn't let herself get comfortable though. After all, she was in Konoha, and while the village had until recently been in a time of peace, the shinobi here were some of the best in the elemental countries.

This would require patience. Lots of patience. Luckily, Tayuya had plenty of that when the time called for it.

1818181818

Naruto got up from the pile of rubble he had made. He rubbed his forehead, groaning as he stood up.

"How...how the hell did she do that with just one damn finger?" Naruto groaned. He had managed to get the first move in, and he could tell she had been surprised to see the boy had created an imperfect _**Rasengan**_ in the palms of his hands. He would have probably nailed her with it, too. She managed to create a small fissure in the earth though by smacking her index finger to the ground, causing him to lose his footing long enough for her to give him a chakra empowered finger-flick to the forehead.

That wasn't the half of it though. Gaara must have tried to jump in, because he was lying in a similar condition on top of what was once a produce stand. If he had been hit as well...

"That woman is a freak of nature." Naruto concluded as he got up. He tried to stand straight, but the street wouldn't stop moving around.

"Jiraiya, what's the big idea teaching these two such high ranked moves?! They're just a year or two into their careers at most, and you've already got them learning such destructive moves?"

Jiraiya shrugged, looking away from his old teammate as he helped Gaara to his feet, "These boys are my students, and they're more than capable of using such moves, Tsunade."

"The _**Rasengan**_ hasn't even been completed; Minato died before he could do such a thing! Hell, even you and Kakashi weren't capable of figuring out how to finish it!" Tsunade growled, "Stop giving that boy false hope! Then there's that _Doton_ technique you had Gaara use! That move is from your own personal rapport, isn't it?" Tsunade shook her head, "If I remember correctly, you used that move to kill off an entire platoon of Kusa-nin on several occasions. _**Doton: Genkoudanpan no Jutsu**_...wasn't that the name of it?"

"I'm surprised, Tsunade. You can remember the names of my more obscure jutsu, yet you never remember my birthda-"

"Enough. Jiraiya, you'd be smart to stop with teaching these youngsters such deadly techniques. It'll just get them killed quicker in a battle." Tsunade interrupted, turning her back to the three male shinobi.

"Coward..."

Again, Tsunade found herself turning to face Naruto. She gave him a flat look, "Stay down, brat, before I have to do some serious damage to you."

"No."

Tsunade didn't know why, but that blond haired brat was starting to grate her nerves. Not only that, but now that Gaara boy was getting up as well, "Listen, the both of you. If you don't stop harassing me right now, I'm going to make you wish you did. Got it?!"

Gaara, much to everyone's surprise, replied first, "Naruto's right; you are a coward."

Tsunade's fists tightened, "Watch it, gourd boy..."

"I can see it in your eyes, Tsunade-san. You're afraid to go back, probably because your loved ones died, right?"

"That's none of your concern."

"I'll take that as a yes, then." Gaara spoke, "If you talked to those people now...would they be happy with the way you are?"

With that, Gaara turned around, not saying another word. Naruto decided to put in his two cents, "If you won't become Hokage, then I will. I may be a Suna-nin, but that won't make any difference! To be the Hokage; that's _my _dream! I used to say that all the time when I was younger, and in a way, I still do want to lead Konoha. I thought a person who's gained as much respect in the shinobi world as you would understand what it means to be the Hokage." Naruto's sapphire eyes locked with Tsunade's chocolate brown, "Maybe I was wrong."

Naruto followed in step with Gaara. Jiraiya gave Tsunade a look that plainly said, 'They're right, you know.' before turning with his students.

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune spoke, "...are you...?"

Tsunade, however, was repeating the words she heard from Naruto.

_'To be Hokage; that's my dream!'_

_'To be Hokage; that's my dream!'_

"Nawaki...Dan..." Tsunade whispered, clenching the necklace around her neck. She looked up to the trio, "Hey, hold on."

Naruto, Gaara, and Jiraiya all stopped, looking to the buxom blond. Naruto quirked an eyebrow, "What?"

"That technique you used...the _**Rasengan**_, and the _**Genkoudanpen no Jutsu**_...they're both not complete yet."

Gaara spoke, "We're still working on them."

Tsunade grinned a bit, "How about we make a bet?"

Jiraiya groaned while Shizune lifted a hand, "Uh, Tsu-Tsunade-sama, we still owe a-"

"Relax, Shizune. It's not like my other bets." Tsunade spoke, "If you two can complete those techniques within a week's time...I'll give you both a portion of this necklace here..."

"E-eh?! Tsunade-sama, that necklace is-"

"I know. It's worth enough money to buy three mountains if it was sold to the right person." Tsunade finished, her eyes still on the two boys, "Anyway, if you two can manage to master your respective jutsu, then I'll give each of you a portion of the necklace...if you don't...well..." Tsunade tapped her chin in thought for a moment before smirking, "You both will have to give me all the money in your wallets."

Naruto smirked, leaning towards Gaara, "Jokes on her, I keep all my money in a scroll ever since Ero-sennin started plundering Gama-chan."

"I heard that." Tsunade said.

"...never mind." Naruto sighed, "Fine, all the money we have on us! You're-" Naruto looked to Gaara, who simply nodded, "...you're on, Tsunade-baachan!!!"

"Baachan..." Tsunade repeated, and shook her head, "Sounds like a deal then. One week." Tsunade grinned, holding up seven fingers, "Better get going, boys. If I remember correctly, the last steps of those techniques are the hardest ones, heheh."

As Tsunade—and a baffled Shizune with Tonton—left, Naruto and Gaara both looked to Jiraiya. The Toad Sage simply smirked, "Well, it's a good thing you two are close to the last steps of those jutsu, huh?" He rubbed his chin, "I guess we better get back to the hotel and rest up. You'll be busting yourselves to the max if you plan on getting those techniques completed in seven days' time."

"Jiraiya-sensei?"

"What's up, Gaara?"

"Tsunade...is she always that cold towards her friends?"

Jiraiya sighed, "There's a lot to Tsunade that I really can't say, simply out of respect for her. She wanted to make an effort to increase the medical-nin training, but it didn't fall through. War brings casualties, and more people in Konoha were dying. Gaara, I'm sure that you've learned a bit about Suna and how bad they had it due to war as well."

"Yes. Suna took a hard blow from the wars." Gaara replied quietly.

Jiraiya continued, "Let's just say this; Tsunade had two people she loved with all her heart die during the Second Shinobi Great World War. After that, she lost faith in the title of Hokage...and, well, she's as you see her now. Still though...as harsh as she can be, she is a caring person. She just...doesn't like showing her vulnerability to others."

Naruto grunted, "Hm. She really ought to stop using that henge though. People will start thinking she really is that young."

Jiraiya laughed before patting his two students on the shoulders, "Alright, you two. Let's go. Tomorrow I'll try to help you a bit with your training."

1818181818

Temari and Sakura sat outside a dango stand, eating their sweetened dumplings as they talked about their lives and experiences, "Well, I live with my mom. She's gone a lot though, being a merchant and whatnot."

Temari gave a small smile, "I...I don't remember much about my mother. She died after giving birth to Gaara...so...I was only a few years old."

"Oh...I'm sorry to-"

Temari waved a hand, "Don't worry about it. You didn't know." The wind-user bit into her dango again, savoring the sweet sauce that dripped off of it, "Man, you wouldn't believe how great this is. They charge an arm and a leg for dango in most of the stores in Suna. Come to think of it...most of the stuff in Suna is more expensive than it is here. Everything except glass and raw ore, at least."

Sakura gave a hum of agreement, "Yeah, that's namely because of the lack of fertile land in Wind Country's central plains. It's kind of the same for Water Country, since they're surrounded by water. They can do tons of fishing, but they have little trade going on outside of local business. Fire Country's lucky since we've got great farmland, and...oh, I'm sorry..." Sakura spoke, seeing the rather amused look on Temari's face, "...I tend to go off on a tangent when I start talking about stuff like this."

Temari laughed, "It's okay. I actually was enjoying the lecture." She grinned, "You know, I can see why you're a Chunin."

Sakura blushed a little, fiddling with the zipper on her Chunin vest, "Really? I think I'm not quite qualified for the rank if you ask me..."

Temari sighed, "Sakura, I've told you before; you've got to stop doubting yourself. People will be more willing to respect you if you respect yourself."

"I know, it's just...well, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kankuro, Gaara, Naruto, and you...you're all really talented. I don't have any special talents like the Sharingan, puppet mastery, or wind justu. I'm just...book smart. I'm a nerd, in a way."

"So what? As far as I see it, you being a nerd is what helped us disarm those tripwires without triggering the bomb tags two days ago. Iwa had them placed all over Konoha, and if you hadn't noticed them and knew what to do, a good portion of the forest around the village would be gone."

Sakura felt her face heat up from the embarrassment of being complimented, "I...thanks, Temari."

"No need to mention it." Temari grinned, "Seriously, you ought to give yourself a bit more credit. You're a Chunin for a reason."

Sakura felt a smile tug at her lips, "You're right. The Sandaime chose to promote me for a reason." She finished her last stick of dango before getting up, "Say, Temari...um, if you're not busy...do you think you could help me train? Sasuke's been doing his own thing lately, and with Kakashi-sensei in the hospital, I don't have anyone to help me with genjutsu. I'd ask Kurenai-sensei, but she's busy with her own team..."

Temari gave Sakura a nod, "Sure, I'm not an expert in that field of jutsu, but I'd be more than happy to help you. Just as long as you don't pull anything to hardcore on me."

The rosette laughed, "Don't worry; I save the scary stuff for Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke."

Temari raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Scary stuff?"

"Oh, you know." Sakura waved a hand, "People's heads blowing up, rabid squirrels, tentacles strangling the life out of you, a naked Gai-sensei, stuff like that."

Temari shuddered, "You're cruel."

"Nope, just proficient." Sakura grinned, "Anyway, how about training ground seven? That's my usual place to train."

"Fair enough. What time?"

"Um...nine in the morning sound good?"

"I'll be there."

Sakura smiled, "Great! See you then!"

As Temari and Sakura headed back to their respective places of residence, Sakura couldn't help but feel excited. Ever since Naruto had left for his trip with Gaara and Jiraiya, she and Temari had begun to hang out more. She found that the Suna-kunoichi was not as mean as she acted in a battle. Temari, just like most of the other women Sakura knew, enjoyed the occasional bit of gossip, though the wind-user found she was much more willing to talk about the history of the Elemental Countries.

Well, that sold Sakura right then and there; shinobi history was one of Sakura's more familiar subjects in the Academy, so the two hit it off well. Not only that, but Ino and Sakura were making good progress in patching up the holes in their friendship. Just the other day, Sakura had gone over to the flower shop and helped Ino with some bouquet arrangements for a wedding.

Sakura opened the door to her home after unlocking the door. She pulled off her sandals and sighed, "Alone again..."

Sakura was different from most of her graduating class that had been put on a team, since unlike the rest, she didn't come from a clan of shinobi. Her mother was a simple woman who had wanted to start a new life in Konoha, so she moved here when she was pregnant with Sakura. She set up a small merchant shop, and after Sakura was old enough, began to travel to do trade and make income for the family. Once a month Sakura would get a card from her mother in the mail with some of the money she made, as well as just giving Sakura an update on how things were going.

Of course, with the strained relations between Iwa and Konoha being rekindled, she doubted that her mother would be going anywhere northwest for awhile. She was last informed that her mother was well, and currently in the developing Wave Country. That put a smile on Sakura's face; she was glad to hear that the country was making a recovery.

She sorted through the mail, and found a small letter that had a return address she was unfamiliar with. She set the rest of the envelopes aside, and tried to weigh the letter in one hand. It didn't way more than what was normal for a letter. She didn't see any traces foul play on it, and didn't detect any poison. Opening it, she found a single piece of paper. Unfolding it, she read it over.

_To Sakura Haruno,_

_Hello. I'm the new member of Team Seven that the Hokage has informed you of. I'd be happy to meet you sometime soon. My name is Tayuya, and I'm a refugee of Kirigakure. If possible, would you be able to meet me at the Ichiraku Ramen stand tomorrow around two in the afternoon?_

_I look forward to meeting you!_

_Tayuya_

Sakura felt a bit of excitement run through her. She had heard the rumors of a new kunoichi appearing in Konoha, supposedly a refugee of a war torn village. Apparently she was from Kiri, at least that's what the letter stated.

"It should be interesting to have another woman on the team...wonder if she's any good at genjutsu." Sakura thought aloud, "Hope she doesn't mind waiting for Kakashi-sensei..."

Sakura went through her nightly ritual before heading to her bed, plopping her head on her pillow as thoughts stirred through her mind. The missions she'd be going on once Konoha got back into a normal routine. What she'd be doing in the next few years. What she would be doing in the next decade. What Naruto was doing. What Sasuke was doing.

With a yawn, Sakura rolled onto her side, looking out the window of her bedroom. She noticed the moon was quite full tonight. It cast a pale light onto the roofs of other houses, allowing her to make out the faint details of the occasional ANBU that ran across the rooftops on patrol.

Before Sakura began to drift off to unconsciousness, she swore she saw the faint flash of brown and blue on a roof across from her house. She didn't give it much thought though, instead settling on letting sleep claim her.

1818181818

Tayuya had decided to try and go about approaching the Haruno girl in friendly manner. Now that she knew where the girl lived, she would have an easier time getting to know the girl's habits. If she could get to be friends with the female of the team, then there was no doubt that she would have an easier time dealing with the Uchiha and the infamous Sharingan Kakashi.

She could do this though. She was one of the elite bodyguards of Orochimaru, one of the three Legendary Sannin. Besides, out of the Sound Five, she was the one with the best looks and acting abilities.

Tayuya would write a letter and have it sent within a few days to a random inn where one of Orochimaru's messengers would then retrieve it and deliver it to the leader of Otogakure himself.

"At this rate I'll be out of this stinking village in a month's time." She chuckled, and with a quick leap off the rooftop, headed back to her new apartment.

1818181818

"So, Itachi, you sure that the nine-tails is in the area?"

"Yes. If he were in Konoha, we would have known. Trust me." Itachi turned to face his blue-skinned partner as they continued down a forested path, "Besides, knowing your sense of direction at times, I'd be more trusting in my judgment right now if I were you."

Kisame laughed at the Uchiha's subtle insult, "Heheh, whatever you say, Itachi. Things are always more interesting with you around anyway."

The two were quiet for awhile longer until they came upon a small inn near the edge of the town where Naruto Uzumaki supposedly was residing in at the moment, "Kisame, tell me...did you notice anything odd in the reports about Uzumaki from the leader?"

Kisame scratched his cheek, "Yeah...now that you mention, there was that one part he said about the kid _traveling_ to Konoha from another country. I thought the kid was living in the village."

"So did I." Itachi replied, "Perhaps we should investigate into this matter as well. I'm curious as to where he may have been before the exams."

"You're curious?" Kisame asked, "You sound almost like you care about the kid's life."

Itachi's expression remained stoic as he turned to the inn's entrance, "No. I'm merely interested in our target's mannerisms so we have less difficulty in capturing him. He's a halfway decent fighter from what our reports stated."

"Heh, right. Something tells me that you have a soft spot for the kid."

Itachi didn't reply, instead opening the door to the inn and getting a room for them to stay in for the night. The two were soon in their room, Kisame already snoring in one of the two beds provided.

Itachi looked outside the window of his room, feeling like he was being watched. He turned around to see if Kisame was awake. The swordsman was still sleeping.

Itachi pulled out an envelope, paper, a brush, and some ink that he had stored away in a small storage scroll. He quickly scribbled out a message before sealing the envelope and creating a single shadow clone. The clone looked to him, then took the letter before nodding and heading out the open window without making a sound.

With that taken care of, Itachi slipped into the covers of his own bed, closing his bed and drifting off to a much needed slumber.

**End of Chapter Eighteen: Ah, another chapter finished! Man, it's a wonderful feeling, I tell you! Many of you are probably wondering a) What's going to happen with Tayuya in the picture? b) What's Gaara's involvement in the Tsunade Search Arc going to do? c) How is Naruto being aware of his heritage going to affect his future, or d) all of the above and then some. Well, don't think I'm going to tell you so easily. Don't worry though; you're all such an awesome group of readers that I decided I'll let you all know the best way possible; by making you wait for the answers, lol. Well, as always, feel free to leave me your thoughts on this chapter here. Later!**

**A/N: Okay, I'm going to just be listing any jutsu that appear for the first time in this fic, as well as my own. So, any jutsu that appeared in chapters before this won't be listed. Sorry, it's just that these jutsu notes take so much time to write up. **

_**Doton: Genkoudanpen no Jutsu- (Earth Release: Mineral Shrapnel Technique)- (Mine)**_- This earth jutsu was created and perfected by Jiraiya of the Sannin during the Third Shinobi War. The does several hand seals before placing a hand in the ground, calling forth hardened minerals from the earth below them. These minerals are then clustered together into one to several larger masses before being launched at the target. These earthen projectiles lodge themselves into the target before exploding, sending shrapnel in several directions. This jutsu is effective both in one on one combat or against multiple enemies.


	19. Snake in the Grass

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. Maybe someday Masashi will be willing to share that ownership...oh, who am I kidding?**

**Chap. 19: Snake in the Grass**

"Of all the rotten..." Naruto grumbled as he tried to focus his chakra on making the rubber ball in his hand explode. Unfortunately, all he had managed to do was waste an entire bag of them, causing them to tear more than anything.

Gaara, on the other hand, was already on the final steps of his own technique. Simply put, Gaara was to compress molded earth and rock into smaller masses, yet the hardest part was controlling and maintaining the shape of the clusters while launching them at the target. Controlling one cluster was hard enough; several was a whole other story.

"I'm guessing that Naruto's having a hard time with the Rasengan?"

Gaara turned to see Shizune heading towards them, "Hello, Shizune-san." he nodded to her before continuing, "Naruto's justu is admittedly more difficult going from step to step, and he's still on the second one. Jiraiya-sensei says he's making great progress though."

"The hell I'm making 'great progress'!" Naruto growled, picking up another rubber ball before focusing his chakra into the spherical toy, "Where the hell is Ero-sennin anyway? He said he was going to help today!"

Shizune gave a sympathetic smile to the stubborn boy, "I'm sure he has a reason to be absent..."

"Yeah, like the women's bathhouse?" Naruto replied. At that, Shizune found herself unable to comment.

"Naruto, Jiraiya-sensei said that the second step emphasizes power. You need to pour more chakra into the ball while still spinning it." Gaara spoke, trying to placate his friend.

"Yeah, I know. It's just like trying to punch through a brick wall with my little finger." The blond sighed, stopping the chakra flow into the ball, "Hey, Shizune-neechan, you have any tips? You were around when my dad was Hokage, right? You've also seen Ero-sennin use the technique, right?"

"Ah, well, I was just a teenager at the time of your father being Hokage..." Shizune scratched her cheek in thought, "Um...well, if I remember Tsunade-sama talking last night, she said that your father took almost three years to achieve the current level that the Rasengan is at. In all honesty, I'm astonished to see you at this step already." Shaking her head, she spoke, "I'm not sure if I'm the right person to ask, Naruto."

"Aw, this is just great. The one guy that can help me is off doing who knows what, and I'm stuck here with a bunch of rubber balls."

"Maybe you just need to use denser chakra, not more of it..." Shizune suggested. "I mean, you can cut paper with a scissors, but it's not as easy to do the same to something like plastic...er..." She laughed as the two boys gave her a confused look, "W-what I mean to say is, if you have a harder material to break, than maybe you just need to use a more powerful force to break it."

Gaara gave a nod, "I think I understand, Shizune-san. If Naruto uses a more concentrated amount of chakra, he can get the rubber to burst."

"Yes, precisely!" Shizune spoke before clearing her throat, "Well, I would imagine so. I mean, I never made the technique, so I'm not positive...but it's worth a shot!"

Naruto gave a shrug before putting a hand over the ball. He began to make the practiced hand movements over the sphere, spinning the chakra as he normally would. This time, however, instead of just spinning it faster, Naruto made the chakra thicker. He made it stronger. He made it denser...

Gaara and Shizune watched as Naruto's eyes squeezed shut while he poured more and more chakra into the ball. The ball began to shake before a faint light could be seen inside it, and then...

_Pop!!!_

"Gaaaah!!!!" Naruto flew back a bit as shreds of rubber fluttered down to the ground. He looked in mild awe as he lifted his right hand that had been holding the balloon, and smiled, "Heheh...heheheh...hahaha!!!!" He hopped to his feet, "All right! I did it!" He turned to Shizune before sprinting over to her and Gaara, "Thanks a billion, Shizune-neechan!!!"

Shizune blushed a bit, namely out of the familiarity Naruto was using in addressing her, "Oh, it's nothing. I-I'm glad to help." Her eyes widened as she suddenly remembered why she had come here to begin with, "Oh, that's right!"

The next thing the two boys knew, Shizune was holding a glowing, green hand over either of the two boy's chests, moving it over their eyes and then to their abdomen. She smiled after she finished with with the both of them, "So, are either of you experiencing any pain or fatigue?"

"Fatigue? Not really." Naruto moved his shoulders a bit, "Maybe sore, but that passes with some rest."

Gaara shook his head, "I'm fine."

She nodded, "Good. Jiraiya-sama actually saw me this morning, and asked that I check on you two and make sure you two weren't going off the wall with your chakra usage."

"We have more than enough chakra to use." Naruto replied, "I could do this for another four hours if I wanted."

"Same here." Gaara replied, returning to his task at hand. He formed a casing over the minerals, and lifted all of them at once, "_**Doton: Genkoudanpen no Jutsu**_!!!"

The earthen projectiles flew at a boulder, and hit with a loud crack. Gaara watched with disappointment as the earthen cases around the mineral shrapnel cracked. He was glad to see that the boulder itself had been cracked as well though. Progress was progress.

"The first step was maintaining the speed of the technique. The second step was maintaining control of the earth's durability. The third is both control and speed." Gaara said to himself, "Jiraiya-sensei said I would be able to get this technique down if I kept those things in mind."

"Hm..." Naruto rubbed his chin in thought, "Hey, Gaara...maybe...maybe you just need to pour more chakra into the earth."

Gaara blinked, "What are you suggesting?"

"Well, it's kind of like my situation. I was just spinning the chakra faster, yet I wasn't making the chakra any denser. Maybe if you pour more chakra into the minerals while launching it, you'll do better. I mean, yeah, controlling the projectile is important, but what's the point of shooting something that can't penetrate it's target? Maybe your chakra can add more firepower to the mineral pieces!"

Shizune gave a nod, "That's a great idea, Naruto." She turned to the red haired Jinchuuriki boy, "Give it a try, Gaara."

The sand user nodded before calling back the earthen projectiles using his affinity to earth. He layered the cases with additional minerals before pouring more chakra into the technique. He felt a bit of a strain as he prepared the attack. Closing his eyes, he calmed his breathing down before continuing with the jutsu, raising the cases of minerals towards the boulder.

The projectiles flew, embedding themselves into the boulder, a large crack spreading as it hit. Gaara gave a hum of amusement before clapping his hands together, "_**Doton: Genkoudanpen no Jutsu**_!!!"

A plume of dust and debris erupted from the boulder as Gaara shot the projectiles out in various directions. The shards of rock in turn embedded into the surrounding earth and rock.

"Watch it!" Naruto shouted as shrapnel flew towards them. Gaara raised his sand in front of the three, stopping the bits of hardened earth, letting them fall harmlessly to the ground.

The three were quiet as Gaara called his sand back into his gourd. He looked at the damage he had done, and nodded, "I need to practice more. It's a start though."

Naruto grinned to his fellow Jinchuuriki, "Damn, Gaara, that was explosive! It was just like how Ero-sennin performed it!"

"You think so?" Gaara asked, corking his gourd, "Thanks for the help, Shizune-san. You're helping Naruto also helped me."

Shizune laughed with a shy smile, "Oh, no need. I'm just glad to have been helpful to you two..." Her smile dropped a bit as she looked to her hands, now folded in front of her, "I...it's been awhile since Tsunade-sama has been...anything close to happy. Personally, I think she _wants_ you two to succeed. She...she's had a hard time recovering from the death of my uncle and her brother Nawaki."

Naruto gave a nod, "She seemed to be touchy on the subject of the Hokage, too."

Shizune shook her head slowly, "That's due to Nawaki and my uncle Dan's dream to be Hokage as well. She..."

Gaara noticed the kunoichi's voice fade, "What, Shizune-san?"

"I don't think it's my place to say. Tsunade-sama herself doesn't really enjoy talking about it." The brunette dug into her pocket, "Oh, that reminds me..." She handed Naruto and Gaara each a small bundle of ryo notes, "That's from Jiraiya-sama. He says sorry for two weeks ago when he spent half of your money at the bars and...other establishments..."

"You seem to know Jiraiya-sensei fairly well." Gaara spoke as he took the roll of ryo notes.

"I met him a few times when I was with my uncle. Tsunade-sama would stop by our house, and Jiraiya and Orochimaru were with her a few times. I got to know Jiraiya-sama fairly well before my uncle died out in the field."

"That makes sense," Naruto began, "You know how big of a pervert he is then, right?"

Shizune forced down a chuckle, "Naruto, it's not polite to talk about people like that behind their backs."

Naruto waved a hand dismissively, "Eh, it's alright. He's probably griping about us two in some brothel right now."

"That or a bar." Gaara added as he sat down to meditate.

"Everyone has their flaws." Shizune spoke, trying to defend what little dignity the Toad Sage had in the eyes of the two boys, "There's no denying that he's powerful."

Naruto gave a laugh, "Well, yeah, of course he's powerful. We saw him fighting in Konoha. He was untouchable."

Shizune bid the two farewell and headed back to the village, stating she had some errands to run for Tsunade-sama. Sitting down, Naruto folded his legs and looked to Gaara, "Hey, Gaara...should we try it again?"

Gaara opened a single eye, looking to Naruto before closing it again, "If you feel up to it."

Naruto nodded before closing his eyes and assuming his own pose for meditation, hands resting in his lap.

The blond opened his eyes to find himself in a small white void. He turned around to see none other than Gaara behind him, "You got here quicker this time."

"Yeah, I guess that's a good thing, heh." The blond replied.

_**"What the hell are you calling me here again for, boy?"**_

Naruto turned around to see the gargantuan form of the Kyuubi standing behind him. The faint glow of runic symbols used in Fuuinjutsu could be seen floating around it. The fox was held in place as it glared at the blond.

"We're just meditating, fox." Naruto said before turning back to Gaara, only to see the giant form of the Ichibi towering over the redheaded Suna-nin with symbols that differed from the Kyuubi's floating around it.

_**"You again?"**_ the demon-tanuki growled, _**"If it weren't for this seal, I'd-"**_

_** "You wouldn't be able to do anything, Ichibi."**_

The two bijuu glared at each other, though the one-tailed demon knew the Kyuubi was right. Naruto's access to the Kyuubi's powers was not something to take lightly, and the boy clearly overpowered the demon in the last fight.

"Enough." Gaara spoke, voicing his annoyance, "Jiraiya-sensei said if we become adjusted to each other's life force, we'll be able to communicate like this over great distances."

The Kyuubi directed its glare down to the redhead, _**"Foolish brat, if you think that I'm going to forge a bond of sorts with the Ichibi and you, then you are sorely mistaken!!"**_

"You don't have a choice, Kyuubi." Naruto spoke, looking up to the fox, "We're the Jinchuuriki. We have the control here."

_**"Ha!"**_ the fox gave a snort of laughter, _**"You think I can be overpowered by **_**you?**_**"**_

"No, I can't overpower you." Naruto replied with a smile on my face, "With my help, though, my seal can do that for me."

The Kyuubi knew Naruto wasn't blowing hot air; the boy _had_ been studying more into seals thanks to that blasted Sannin, Jiraiya. Sure, the boy was still a blooming novice in Fuuinjutsu, but he knew enough to cause the fox some grief, _**"Blasted mortal whelp..."**_

"That's better." Naruto spoke, "Okay, Gaara. Ready when you are."

Gaara gave the Ichibi a look over his shoulders. The tanuki merely growled before closing its eyes, signaling it too would comply with the boys' demands. Gaara turned back to Naruto, and nodded.

The boys began to glow with a faint blue aura, Naruto's slightly larger than Gaara's. The faint ripple of crimson could be seen in Naruto's while Gaara's had a faint aura of almost yellow. Their life force, having been intermingled with their respective bijuu, was the cause of this strange coloration in their auras.

Naruto's aura was just like the boy himself; bright, warm, and powerful. However, Gaara was able to read the more passive signals, like Naruto's less shown serious side, his small insecurities of failing the ones who he held close to him, and the vulnerability he felt in trusting others to the extent that he did with Gaara.

Gaara aura was, unsurprisingly, not as bright as Naruto's. However, Gaara's aura was more calming, and more controlled. It stayed close to itself, but didn't close up completely to those who it knew. It reflected Gaara's ability to understand others at face value, the flickering motion showing the slow growth Gaara was making in becoming a happier person over all.

The auras sent out a small tendril of their light towards each other while the two bijuu poured a bit more of their chakra to help ease the process. While humans such as monks and veteran shinobi were able to extend their senses as far as several hundred meters, most humans were only capable of doing this after decades of training. Bijuu could extend their senses out without a second thought. Being beasts of nature and chakra allowed this.

The two boys were able to feel their auras surround each other, and could clearly tell each other's health, state of mind, and base emotions by doing so.

"So..." Naruto spoke, "We can actually talk to each other since we're so close, but, say if we were in separate countries. How would it work then?"

_**"You'll be able to send simple thoughts and reflections of your memories at best, along with your vitality and what you're body is feeling at the moment." **_the Kyuubi answered, being an ancient beast, it already knew this.

_**"The farther away you two are, the harder it will be to do this, though getting better at this will help with that."**_ continued the Ichibi.

A thought crossed Naruto's mind, "Hey...you think we could use this to find others like us?"

Gaara's eyes widened a little, "That...may be possible."

_**"It would be hard to do, and you wouldn't even know where to start."**_ Kyuubi replied with growl of annoyance, _**"Besides, you'd have to track down the demonic aura of a Jinchuuriki, and whether it be out in the wild or in a crowded city, bijuu can conceal themselves well when needed, especially if they're inside a host."**_

Naruto grunted in understanding, "Well...if they have sealed beasts inside them as well...there _likely_ to be shinobi or at least in a shinobi village, right? I mean, fuuinjutsu likely is what sealed a demon inside a human, and since shinobi generally use jutsu..."

"It's very likely." Gaara said, a somewhat thoughtful expression replacing his usually calm features, "I don't think we should try it out until we're more experienced though."

_**"Great, are you finished now?" **_grumbled the Ichibi, _**"I'd rather not waste further time with you two humans."**_

Naruto and Gaara gave a nod to the two demons, "Yeah, yeah. Cut the connection."

The two demons disrupted the auras' connections and the two boys found the white void around them began to disappear. Opening their eyes, they found themselves back in material plane, still sitting in the grounds they had been training at outside of town.

"I think we should ask Jiraiya-sensei if there are any other known Jinchuuriki that could be found within the Elemental Countries." Gaara stated as they stood up.

"Yeah. I think that would be a good idea. I mean, if there's others like us, who knows what kind of lives they lived..."

The two boys picked up their supplies and made their way back down towards the town.

1919191919

Jiraiya walked into the hotel room he was staying at next to Naruto and Gaara's room. He walked in, only to be greeted by the duo, "What are you two doing in here?"

Naruto and Gaara were watching a show on the bug species of northern Fire Country from what it looked like. Naruto seem thoroughly engrossed with the show, and blinked a few times before turning towards the Toad Sage, "Oh, Ero-sennin. We were waiting for you to get back."

"I can see that. Now, can I ask _why_?"

Gaara decided to get straight to the point, "Naruto and I were wondering if there are any other Jinchuuriki in the Elemental Countries."

The Toad Sage was quiet for a moment. He sighed deeply, "Figures; it was bound to be asked sooner or later, I suppose." He scratched his chin before continuing," As far as I know, there's at least one Jinchuuriki in Kumo, though I've heard that another one is living out in the mountains nearby. Iwagakure supposedly had two Jinchuuriki as well, though I'm not sure if they both still live within the village itself. I heard that one of them left years ago."

"So...that means there's possibly four of us out there...right?" Naruto asked.

"Well, that's the thing. I've also heard that there was a Jinchuuriki in Takigakure and two more in Kirigakure too. I've heard rumors that a previous Mizukage was one of the Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi as well. However, I've heard that he had the three-tailed giant turtle extracted from him. The shinobi feared that he was being manipulated somehow. The bijuu is believed to still be roaming around in the wild. You'd be surprised how well some villages keep the secret of their Jinchuuriki hidden from other shinobi." Jiraiya placed a hand on Naruto's head, "You're a prime example, Naruto. Well, at least to _most_ of the shinobi world anyway."

"Yeah..." Naruto nodded slowly, "So, do you think it would be possible if we somehow managed to find these Jinchuuriki?"

"Hard to say. Not all Jinchuuriki are the same. Gaara, from what I know, you weren't always the most approachable person, and Naruto, you didn't even know of your status as a container until just a few months ago. Some people respect the demon hosts, others not so much." the Toad Sage replied with a shrug, "It's all a matter of who they are as people."

"I suppose." Naruto sighed, "It was worth a shot, anyway. We've got bigger things to worry about right now, right Gaara?"

Gaara nodded, "I'll help you with completing the Rasengan later."

Naruto grinned, "Thanks, Gaara!"

Jiraiya gave a sigh while sitting down, "I'll look into the Jinchuuriki situation if I can, boys. I have a feeling that making friends with them will probably be a good idea that will pay off in the years to come." The Sannin cracked his neck a bit before kicking off his sandals, "Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to get some shut eye."

"...it's five in the afternoon." Gaara spoke.

"Yeah, and I plan on waking up later on. Now get out of here so I can sleep." Jiraiya groaned. The two boys got off the bed and left their teacher to sleep.

"Legendary Sannin, my foot. The guy's an old hermit, enough said." Naruto grumbled as they headed down the hall to the exit.

1919191919

"So, you're from Kirigakure, right?"

Tayuya looked up from her cup of tea she was trying to sip, "Yeah, my family was wiped out during the massive bloodline conflict. We didn't have a kekkai genkai, but we made enemies with a clan that did, so..." She shrugged, "I was able to escape, luckily."

"I can't imagine what that must have been like for you." Sakura frowned, "It's horrible that Kiri had to go and have that happen."

"Well, the past is the past." Tayuya waved a hand, "It happened almost five years ago. I've managed to fend for myself since then. I figured Konoha would be a stable place for me to get my shinobi career back on track."

Sakura smiled, "Well, I'm glad to have you on my team, Tayuya." Sakura stood up, "Say, I know what we could do!" The rosette laughed a bit, "Oh, I think Ino is off, and Temari doesn't have anything going on either. You could meet two of my friends, and they'd be sure to help fill you in on Konoha and Suna. Temari is actually a kunoichi from Hidden Sand, but she...bah, it's a long story, I'll let her tell you!"

"Oh, that's okay." Tayuya seriously didn't think she'd like to spend anymore time than needed with these weak Leaf-nin, "I don't want to be a bother, and I-"

"You're not being a bother, Tayuya, and I think you'd honestly get along perfectly with Ino and Temari...well, at least Temari. That, and I can introduce you to Tenten and Hinata later as well!" Sakura giggled, "Man, we could even have a girls' night out! We could splurge some ryo at the mall, go to that dance club, and..."

Tayuya mentally let out a scream; damn it, as smart and educated as this Haruno girl was, she still acted like a child at times. Tayuya wondered for the umpteenth time how she was suckered into this mission. It was hell trying to act like a semi-timid refugee ninja, but dealing with this kind of crap too? Seriously! Why her??

Oh, right. Kimimaro was on a steady road to recovery after Kabuto had managed to find a serum for that illness on him. Tayuya would forever curse that damned medic-nin for managing to find the supposedly incurable illness that would have wiped Kimimaro out for good.

"Don't be silly, Tayuya!" Sakura said, pulling Tayuya up from her seat, "The girls would love to meet you. It doesn't matter what kind of village you were born in; the fact you want to start over and have a better future says enough about you as a person."

Tayuya couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt run through her; the poor naive kunoichi seriously thought that she was a Kiri-nin with a tragic past. The fact that Sakura _wanted_ to befriend her made the guilt a little worse. Still, it was only a minuscule amount of guilt. What did it matter to her if this girl was stupid for trusting a person she had just met?

Besides, she had a mission to take care of! She should be asking about the Uchiha brat, and what she knew about his skills! Not about what the latest styles were in kunoichi apparel!

"Okay. I'm not a big fan of malls though." Tayuya said in a defeated tone, "Just as long as you don't go make me try on a million outfits."

Sakura snickered, "That's Ino's job, not mine."

For some reason, Tayuya had a feeling that this was going to be a really long day for her.

1919191919

It was around two in the morning as Naruto stood before a tree. He stared hard at a large, spiraling indent he had made into the bark, clearly taking off a significant chunk of the woody plant, "Damn it, still not want I wanted." He growled in annoyance before opening up his right palm and making circular motions over it with his left hand.

_"Concentrate...concentrate...focus the chakra into a central point...expand...rotate...rotate..."_

Naruto reared back his hand, "_**Rasengan**_!!!!"

Naruto slammed his open hand into the tree, blasting away a good portion of it's bark again. There before him was another spiraling indent, a bit deeper than the previous one.

"Gaaaah! Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!" Naruto looked at the indent within the bark before looking to his somewhat burnt hand. Chakra burns; a clear signal to stop training for the day.

Gaara had long gone home to meditate and attempt to get an hour or two of sleep. He had suggested that Naruto call it a day as well, but the blond refused to give up yet. One more hour! That's all he needed.

Naruto clenched his fist before opening it up again, ignoring the soreness and cramping of his fingers and wrist. He needed to do this!

"One...one more time. If I don't do it right this time...no, I'll get it right this time..." Naruto panted, sweat stinging his eyes as he forced one eye open. He summoned chakra into his left and right hands, spinning the blue light of energy into a swirling vortex.

_"Focus...find your center, and concentrate all the energy into a central point..don't disturb the stability..."_ Naruto thought to himself as he formed a sphere in his hands. It was fluctuating in size constantly, but the blond refused to give in until he got it to hold.

The sphere shrunk before condensing and growing larger. Naruto nodded; it was what he was looking for. He looked to the tree before him, and let out a breath. He growled as his hand twitched slightly, struggling to maintain the powerful jutsu.

_"Now...!!!"_

Naruto took a step forward while slamming the vortex forward, "_**Rasengan**_!!!"

The sphere smashed into the tree before chipping away pieces of bark and turning the wood into a fine dust. He struggled as he took another step forward, "Come on! Come _on_!!!"

The sphere collapsed, and an explosion of wood and unstable chakra sent the young Chuunin flying back several feet. He coughed up dust as he struggled to his feet, and walked over to his practice dummy to see the results.

It wasn't perfect, uneven strips of bark stuck out in various places, but Naruto could _definitely_ make out the concave area where his jutsu had hit. He smiled to himself; that was what he was looking for. He'd have to work at it, but he had gotten the basic idea down to a practice.

"Now to go home and..." Naruto leaned against the tree before falling to the ground, passing out from chakra exhaustion. The blond was soon snoring lightly, curled up against the very tree he had been pummeling just moments ago.

A figure, a woman to be precise, appeared from the shadows, walking over to the blond and kneeling down to get a look at him. A well manicured hand rested two fingers under his neck, and checked his pulse, "Heh, just like your mother..." Chocolate brown eyes twinkled a bit as the woman smoothed away some stray bangs of her blond her as she stood up, "...reckless and stubborn..."

"He's something else, isn't he?"

Tsunade whirled around to see Jiraiya leaning against a rock while watching her from his peripherals. She snorted indignantly, "Tch, he's reckless and a loudmouth."

"True, but he's got an unbending will to improve himself." Jiraiya added as he walked over to his long time teammate, "Looks like you'll be handing over that necklace after all."

"Hmph, whatever. Just my luck, I suppose." Tsunade spoke as she got up, "The brats look like they're somewhat capable as far as shinobi go."

"How exactly do you plan on giving them a necklace like that? You have some professional who can cut valuable jewelry in town?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow as she smirked, "Don't tell me you've been playing my students for fools. A bet's a bet, right?"

Tsunade chuckled, "Relax, I've got a method to dividing the jewel into equal halves." She lifted a finger, and a faint blue light appeared, "Chakra has amazing properties to it, after all."

Jiraiya nodded, "Right." They were quiet for a few moments, Jiraiya debating whether or not he should carry his godson home and Tsunade pondering on the next words that probably would change her life forever.

"I think I'll be taking the position of Godaime for Konoha."

Jiraiya gave a small smile, "Glad to hear that." He chuckled quietly, "The old man will be happy to see you after all these years. First me, then Orochimaru, now you." He shook his head, "I won't try and put pressure on you, but Konoha's unofficially at war with Iwa and Oto right now."

"I know." Tsunade sighed, "Jiraiya, I've been doing some thinking. I've come to realize that dwelling on the past and regretting things won't help me get over Dan and Nawaki. I loved them, but..." She was silent for a few moments, "...but this boy here...." She put a hand on Naruto's forehead, smoothing away his bangs a second time, "...he along with Gaara have shown me that it's important to remember who I am, and who I was, and honor the memory of those I loved by continuing to be the kunoichi I used to be." She closed her eyes, "Jiraiya, I won't lie...I'm old. I lived a good portion of my life running from the past."

"Tsunade, you lost two people that you care-"

"No!" Tsunade looked up, her eyes moist, "I've been running from the past, but as a result, I've also abandoned my friends and those I care about, you among them." She looked away, "I just wish I could have realized that a lot sooner."

Jiraiya wouldn't lie; the fact that Tsunade had admitted she cared about him meant more than most things did in his world. He grinned a little, "If it helps any, I forgave you years ago."

Tsunade smiled, looking at her old teammate, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." The Toad Hermit replied, "You won't be alone, either. Sarutobi-sensei will more than likely be stubborn and continue to guide you while you're the Hokage, and I'll help whenever I can."

The blond woman stood up, "Right. I guess when Orochimaru asks for my answer, I'll give it."

"I'll be there with you." Jiraiya replied, "It'll be a nice little team reunion. I think it'd be good for all three of us."

"Tch, you just make sure not to get yourself killed if we fight him." Tsunade looked up to the darkening sky, "Well, I better get going. The last thing I need is for Shizune to worry about me arriving to our hotel late."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for her though, you'd probably be a wreck." Jiraiya added, receiving a light smack on the shoulder, which actually hurt quite a bit. He didn't show it though.

Tsunade began walking, "Shizune's a worry-wart, that's all. She just needs to find a good man that'll take her out for dinner and show her...Jiraiya, I swear if you start writing in that notebook, I'll make that incident back in the hot springs years ago seem like a picnic."

Jiraiya pouted, "Spoil sport." He looked down to his sleeping student, and groaned, "I suppose he would prefer to sleep in his own bed tonight." Lifting the still sleeping form of Naruto over his shoulders, the Toad Sage headed towards the town along with Tsunade, feeling happier than he truly had in a long time.

1919191919

Naruto awoke the following morning to the sound of a songbird chirping outside the window of his room. Groaning while stretching, he sat up and looked around. He remembered passing out in his training spot outside of the town. Why was he here?

He got out of bed, and noticed a piece of paper sitting on his nightstand. He picked it up and read it.

_Hey gaki,  
_

_ Next time you decide to camp outside for the night, make sure to let me know. I had to haul your unconscious dead-weight of a body all the way back here without help. Anyway, Gaara and I are training at the usual spot until noon. If you want to join, head on over there before eleven thirty._

_ Jiraiya_

_  
_Naruto grumbled a bit to himself, and stretched. He blinked away the sleep from his eyes and changed his clothes before grabbing a pear from the basket on the table and wolfing it down. He bounded out the door and headed to the streets. He needed to find Jiraiya and show him before he and Gaara demonstrated their progress to Tsunade. That necklace was as good as theirs!

He was at the designated training area within ten minutes' time. He waved a hand to Gaara and Jiraiya, who had noticed him running towards, "Ero-sennin! Gaara! I did it!! I did it!!"

Jiraiya was already well aware of what he was talking about, but decided to humor the boy, "What are you talking about?"

Naruto grinned, and held out a single hand, "Check this out!" He clenched his palm for a moment before opening it up and manifesting a small blue vortex. He then began to make a circular motion with his free left hand, the sphere grew in size before it compressed once more. It began to spin faster, and eventually small streaks of light began to appear, swirling around the stable yet dangerous ball of chakra.

Jiraiya smirked, "Impressive. I never thought you'd get it down so fast, but I guess you've proven me wrong." He gave the blond a serious look, "Let's see just how powerful that really is though. Creating the Rasengan is all fine and dandy, but unless you can use it properly, it means jack-squat in my book."

Naruto just smirked, "Watch and be amazed." He flexed his fingers a bit while concentrating his energies into the ball of raw power. He chose a nice sized boulder, and adjusted his footing a bit before bursting forward. He was nothing short of a human blur, reaching his destination in a matter of seconds. The rock exploded, sending bits of pebbles and dust into the air.

Jiraiya let out a low whistle, "Not bad, not bad at all!" He clapped a bit while Naruto walked towards them, "Looks like someone's been putting their nose to the grindstone lately. I guess that means both you and Gaara win the bet, huh?"

"I guess so. I think we should find Tsunade-san before she decides to cut town again." Gaara spoke, "I doubt she's one who willingly owes up to her debts."

Jiraiya looked to the redhead, "Don't worry, Gaara. Something tells me that she won't be backing out of this bet. In fact, I think I know where she is."

The trio of shinobi began to make their way back towards the village, intent on getting their rightful prizes.

_Boom!_

Jiraiya and the two boys were immediately on alert, crouching a bit lower and turning towards the sound of an explosion. Looking to the east, they saw a plume of debris just outside of the village. Jiraiya seemed to be focused on that direction, his eyes never leaving the spot.

His eyes widened, "Damn it, that was definitely Tsunade." He looked to his two students, "Follow me, but stay back. I think our favorite snake decided to pay an early visit, and didn't like what Tsunade had to say."

"Right." the two Chuunin replied. They dashed off towards the soon-to-be battleground, hoping to assist Tsunade with whatever was happening.

1919191919

"That's my answer, you slime ball. Now, leave now or I'll knock you into orbit." Tsunade growled, walking away from a large pile of rock that had once been part of a boulder, "You've done enough harm to Konoha, I won't let you get a second chance to attack the village."

Orochimaru chuckled a bit, as though he had just heard an amusing joke, "Tsunade, you mean to tell me that you wish to protect the very village that took away two of your dearly beloved?" He shook his head, "How sad. It seems that senility has finally gotten a hold on you."

Kabuto, who stood a short distance behind the Snake Sannin, spoke, "Orochimaru-sama, shall I dispose of her?" He brandished a kunai, "I'll make it quick."

"No need, Kabuto. I don't need jutsu to beat an old, helpless hag like her." A serpentine smile crossed the Otogakure leader's lips, "Keep Tsunade's attendant out of this."

Kabuto looked to Shizune, a small smirk appearing on his own lips, "As you wish."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "Shizune, stay on alert. We don't know what abilities Orochimaru has up his sleeves, and that kid with the glasses is definitely a talented shinobi if he's with that snake."

"Right, Tsunade-sama." Shizune replied, her fingers straightening as a light blue light began to form around her hand, "He's not the only one with skills."

Without warning, Kabuto dashed towards the two kunoichi. Shizune responded by dashing forward as well. The two met, Shizune ducking underneath a kick from Kabuto. She quickly leaned backwards as a kunai missed her forehead by mere seconds. She lunged forward, grazing Kabuto's side with her medical chakra emblazoned hand.

"Huh, looks like you can fight after all." Kabuto spoke, his voice less playful, "That little scratch there kind of smarts." He placed a hand over his injury, and light green chakra began to surround the wound, healing it up as though nothing had happened.

Shizune's eyes widened for a moment, "So, you're a medic too," She got into her stance, "I guess I'll have to take you out quickly then."

"Go ahead and try." Kabuto retorted with a smile.

1919191919

Orochimaru jumped away as Tsunade created another crater in the earth. She was fighting with much ferocity, but luckily for him, he had greater speed than her. As long as he avoided those monstrous punches and kicks of hers, he'd have the upper hand.

"Quit running, you coward!" Tsunade roared as she dashed forwards, going at him with her dangerous combination of taijutsu and superb chakra control.

Orochimaru prepared to jump, but found his feet unable to leave the ground. He looked down to see his feet covered in sand, "What?"

"Got you!!" Tsunade shouted, delivering a powerful right hook to the jaw. Orochimaru cried out in pain as he was sent rocketing into a few trees.

Tsunade dusted herself off a bit, turning to the side to see Jiraiya beside Gaara, who was calling back tendrils of sand into his gourd, "Nice job, Gaara."

Gaara simply nodded, and Jiraiya walked over to her side, "I take it he didn't agree with your decision?"

Tsunade laughed, "He's a bit livid, I suppose." She looked forward and raised an eyebrow, "You've got to be kidding me. He's getting up after that?"

Sure enough, Orochimaru was standing up, albeit with some strain due to a lack of arms and the fact that he got hit by one of the most powerful kunoichi in all of the Elemental Nations. He gasped a bit, "You fools. I've learned the secret to immortality; I cannot be defeated so easily!"

Jiraiya took a step forward, "Orochimaru, you've gone too far. Consider yourself no longer a member of the Sannin." The Toad Sage's eyes locked with the eyes of his one time best friend, "I'm going to take you down by any means necessary."

Orochimaru just laughed, "Ah, Jiraiya. Always playing the fool, aren't you?" He stood straight, eyes flashing dangerously, "I believe you once telling me that you'd bring me back to Konoha, saying that you and I were friends. Isn't that right?"

Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders, "People change. I've come to realize my past mistakes, and I've learned you're too far in with your obsession for immortality and learning all the jutsu in the world."

"A simpleton like yourself could never understand my ambition." The Snake Sannin replied.

"I guess I'm thankful for that." Jiraiya shot back.

Kabuto suddenly reappeared by the Snake Sannin's side, his hair a bit of a mess, but otherwise unscathed, "It seems we've got some uninvited guests."

Orochimaru followed the eyes of his subordinate, and smiled as he noticed the familiar blond hair and whisker marks of a certain Jinchuuriki, "Ah, Naruto-kun. I see you're doing well."

Naruto was helping Shizune stand, seeing as she sustained a minor gash on one of her calf muscles, "Long time no see, snake bastard."

Orochimaru grinned, sharp incisors making themselves visible, "Kabuto...the seal. Now."

Kabuto looked to his leader, an alarmed expression on his features, "Orochimaru-sama...are you certain? You don't have the proper sacrifice for summoning-"

"I said _now_, Kabuto." Orochimaru repeated, "Manda is probably aching to have a stab at the Toad Sage and the Slug Princess. I'm sure he'll make an exception."

Kabuto lowered his head for a moment, "As you wish, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto untied the bandages around the Snake Sannin's left arm stubs, which seemed to have been sewn up around the joint where the elbows would be. Kabuto bit his thumb and drew blood, then drew a few symbols onto the Sannin's arm.

Jiraiya cursed, "Tsunade, better get Katsuyu out here." Jiraiya looked to Naruto, Shizune, and Gaara after biting his thumb, "You three, get back, now!"

The three complied with Jiraiya's request, putting a significant amount of distance between themselves and the other four. Naruto was the first to recognize the seals Jiraiya was making, "That's...the summoning jutsu."

Shizune nodded while healing her wound, "Yes. It looks like the three of them are going call forth their strongest summons..."

"I've only seen Jiraiya-sensei summon toads the size of small buildings before. What can Tsunade-san and Orochimaru summon?" Gaara asked, sand whirling around the three.

Shizune finally stood on her own, her wound much less painful now that she was able to treat it, "Tsunade-sama holds the slug contract, and if I remember correctly, Orochimaru can summon snakes."

"That's pretty fitting. Snake bastard summons snakes." Naruto grumbled, "Shizune-neechan, stay here, I'm going to-"

A coil of sand wrapped around Naruto's leg, "Hold on, Naruto. This battle is between the three Sannin; they're Kage-level shinobi. If we get involved, we better make sure that we're not going to in the way of Tsunade-san and Jiraiya-sensei."

Naruto sighed; Gaara was right. Sure, he and Gaara had improved by leaps and bounds, but in skill and experience, they were still wet behind the ears compared to those three out there.

The shout of the three Sannin was heard, snapping them from their thoughts, "_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_!!"

Three plumes of smoke could be seen, and a moment later, Naruto was able to make out three distinct figures wrapped within the clouds of white. One he immediately recognized as Gamabunta, another was a white slug, which Naruto guessed was the summon of Tsunade's. That obviously left the giant purple snake with Orochimaru.

"Holy crap..." Naruto uttered, "I think we need a strategy, Gaara."

1919191919

Manda took in the scenery before him, and growled, **"Orochimaru, why have you summoned me?"**

Kabuto, instead, spoke, "Manda-sama, please, we need you to-"

**"Was I talking to you, pissant?" **Manda snapped, **"Start explaining before I devour you, Orochimaru!"**

Orochimaru was visibly nervous; he didn't have the proper one hundred bodies to offer to Manda. He hoped his excuse would work, "I thought you'd enjoy a chance to finally kill Gamabunta."

Manda looked forward, his tongue flicking out for a moment before he chuckled, **"Well, if it isn't the old toad himself."**

Gamabunta, who had been taking a drag from his pipe, exhaled a giant cloud of smoke, **"Manda, what an unpleasant surprise."**

** "Hmph. Katsuyu, never thought I'd see you here too." **Manda added, **"In fact, I never thought I'd have to deal with you two ever again."**

Katsuyu raised herself up a bit higher to match Manda in height, **"It's been too long since we last spoke, Manda. It appears that I've no choice but to fight you."**

** "**_**You**_**? Fight me?"** Manda chuckled a bit, **"Please, a soft-hearted glob of slime like you would never have it in you to fight me."**

** "I think you're forgetting that there's two of us versus you, Manda. Looks like I'll finally get the chance to make that snake skin wallet I've always wanted."**

** "Over my dead body, you wart covered mud lover."**

** "That's precisely the idea, Manda!"**

The two summons lunged at each other, Gamabunta pulling out the blade tied around his waist while Manda opened his maw, rows of teeth awaiting the flesh of the giant amphibian.

"Now, Katsuyu!" Tsunade shouted.

**"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"** Katsuyu replied before opening her mouth wide and blasting out a torrent of slime. Manda noticed the attack coming, and quickly moved to the side, avoiding the corrosive liquid.

**"Too slow!"** Manda laughed, suddenly by the slug queen's side. He wrapped his body around her, intent on suffocating her via constriction.

**"Gngh...gah..." **Katsuyu fought to stay conscious, awaiting for the right moment to make her move. Tsunade jumped into the air, and Katsuyu suddenly exploded into hundreds of miniature versions of herself.

**"Grr...damn slugs and your ability to divide."** Manda growled.

"Hrraaaah!!!"

**"What the-gaaah!!!"** Manda never knew what hit him as a force equivalent to a dynamite blast hit him in the head. The giant snake fell to the ground, along with Orochimaru and Kabuto.

Tsunade landed gracefully in front of the fallen summon, shaking her wrist a bit, "Give it up, Orochimaru. You're outnumbered, outclassed, and have no access to any of your jutsu."

Orochimaru let out a laugh as Manda got up, shaking his head a bit while trying to gain his bearings, "You think I'm that unprepared for a battle, Tsunade-_hime_?"

The Snake Sannin opened his mouth wide while a snake slithered out, doing likewise and opening its jaws wide. The glint of steel could be seen by Tsunade as Orochimaru called forth Kusanagi.

"Tsunade, watch out!" Jiraiya cried out. A second later, the snake lunged at Tsunade, the point of Kusanagi aimed at the Slug Sannin's heart. Tsunade moved quickly, flipping back several times just as the legendary blade stabbed the earth where she had been standing.

"My my, looks like you haven't lost all of your flexibility yet." Orochimaru commented as he called back Kusanagi, now holding it with his extended tongue, "You know, Tsunade, I was honestly telling you the truth when I said I would bring back your loved ones. If you had only helped heal these arms of mine, I would have resurrected them. You continue to grow older and steadily approach your death, yet you deny yourself the chance to live with them once more?"

Tsunade shook her head, "Trust me, if there's one thing I want more than anything else in the world, it's to see Dan and Nawaki once more." She kept her steely gaze on Orochimaru, "Yet, to bring them back from the grave...that would be an insult to them. One should never tamper with what has already happened. By helping you, I would be spitting on everything they ever believed in. To help the enemy of Konoha would be to insult their dreams."

"I never thought you'd become a fool like the rest of the Hidden Leaf, Tsunade." Orochimaru stated, "Very well. You'll join your loved ones in the afterlife very shortly. Just as soon as I defeat you and force you to heal my arms."

**"Aren't you forgetting about someone?!"** roared Gamabunta. The Snake Sannin, along with Manda and Kabuto, looked up to see the toad boss aiming his blade over Manda's neck. The snake curled his body to the side, avoiding the blade and countering with a whip of his tail. Gamabunta was sent flying back, along with Jiraiya.

**"I'm not that easy to defeat, you damn toad." ** Manda laughed, **"Now, watch how it's properly done!"** Manda raised his head into the air, and dove into the earth, burrowing below the others.

Gamabunta and the now reformed Katsuyu both felt the earth shaking before them. Gamabunta kept his blade close while Katsuyu prepared to be ambushed.

"Damn, that snake isn't a pushover." Jiraiya complained as he stood on Gamabunta's head, "Any idea where he's going to strike?"

**"None at all. He's probably going to go for me first, since he probably views me as a bigger threat at the moment. No offense, Katsuyu."**

** "None taken." **the slug replied.

Meanwhile, a way's off from the battlefield stood Naruto, Gaara, and Shizune. The two boys were speaking with each other over the strategy they had developed while Shizune debated on whether to stay here and keep the boys from going and getting themselves killed or assisting Tsunade.

"...so are we clear on that part?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod from the sand user, "Great. Now, we just have to wait until that damn snake comes out from wherever he's hiding underground.

"I think I can find out." Gaara spoke, putting a hand on the ground. He closed his eyes, and focused on the vibrations coming from beneath the surface. After a moment passed, he spoke, "Found him."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, "Really?"

Gaara didn't even give Naruto an answer, instead turning to Jiraiya and Gamabunta. He lifted up the sand around him, and with both hands blasted it towards the toad boss and Sannin.

"Gaara, what are you doing? That's Ero-sennin you're attack-"

A second later, Manda burst forth from the ground, right behind the giant toad. However, what Manda didn't expect was to have a pillar of sand smash into his face, knocking him off balance.

**"Gaah! What the hell? _Sand_?!" **Manda ducked as Gamabunta's blade narrowly missed his head. He quickly grabbed a hold of the toad chief's wrist with his tail before throwing him back some distance. He growled as he took a second to recover, **"Orochimaru, I'd better have one hundred sacrifices after this is finished, or so help me I'll feed on you instead!"**

Orochimaru cursed under his breath, turning towards the source of the surprise attack, "It's that damned Ichibi boy and the Kyuubi brat." He suddenly had a wonderful idea, "Manda, the one who attacked was none other than the Jinchuuriki of the Shukaku. He's over by that group of boulders, and right next to him is the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."

Manda turned to his left, and his eyes rested upon the two boys and Shizune, **"Hn, so those little morsels think they can take me on?" ** Manda narrowed his eyes, **"What are they doing here to begin with?"**

Orochimaru grinned, tongue hanging from mouth while still wrapped around the sword handle, "The two boys are apparently studying under Jiraiya. On top of that, the woman next to them is the personal assistant and traveling companion of Tsunade. Killing them would deal a harsh blow to the two, and rid the world of two village weapons. Defeat them, and I'll let you feast upon all the inhabitants of Suna as payment."

**"You don't say." **Manda chuckled, **"Suna, huh? Fair enough, that brat had it coming when he attacked me anyway." **Manda let out a hiss before almost two dozen giant snakes erupted from the ground, though they were still small in comparison to their leader. They looked to him expectantly, **"Keep the slug and toad out of my way."**

The snakes gave a hiss before slithering towards Katsuyu and Gamabunta. Tsunade hopped back onto the Slug Queen's back, "Katsuyu, we've got company!"

**"I'll take care of them."** Katsuyu spoke, spitting out a gob of acid. It hit one of the snakes, which let out a shrilling hiss before being burned alive by the corrosive material.

Gamabunta got up just in time to raise his blade to hold a snake's mouth back, **"I've had enough of these damned snakes!"** The toad chief slammed a foot on the reptile before crushing it's skull in with another foot. He sliced through another one of the snakes, it's bottom half still wriggling as it died. Taking a look ahead, Gamabunta growled in annoyance as several more snakes were heading towards him and Katsuyu.

"Looks like there's no getting out of this one without killing them first, Bunta." Jiraiya spoke, "We've got to hurry!"

- - - - -

Naruto and the other two noticed Manda's eyes were now set on them, "Uh oh. He wasn't supposed to be heading towards us." Naruto turned to Gaara, "Okay, better get going with the plan."

Gaara gave a nod, and went through a few hand seals, "**_Doton: Yomi Numa!_**"

Manda raced towards the trio, but found moving becoming increasingly more difficult. He looked down to the ground to see a giant body of muddy water had formed around him. An earth style technique, no doubt, **"The brat knows an A-class Doton technique? Damn it!"**

Gaara strained to try and hold the snake in place while Naruto began to gather wind chakra into his two open palms, "I'd recommend hurrying up, Naruto. I can't sink him; he's too big."

"Got it." Naruto spoke, shifting his feet a bit, "Shizune-neechan, you probably should take a step or two back. This is going to be big."

Shizune nodded, doing as Naruto had asked and watched as the boy's clothes began to flutter in the wind he had created. He aimed his two palms at the giant snake, and combined the two balls of wind into one mass.

"He's getting free." Gaara warned as Manda managed to free himself. Naruto didn't need any further coaxing.

"**_Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu!_**"

A powerful gust of wind blew Naruto back a few feet, though he managed to stay standing. The snake's head snapped back as the wind blast hit him dead on. He roared as he lost balance, causing Orochimaru and Kabuto to hop off and onto the ground. Just as they landed, several tendrils of sand lashed out at them.

"Kabuto, get rid of them." Orochimaru growled.

Kabuto dashed past the streams of sand, drawing a kunai and tossing at Naruto, who was still recovering from the backlash of his jutsu. The kunai however, was knocked off course by another projectile.

Kabuto looked to see Shizune drawing several more senbon needles, "You again?" Kabuto smiled a bit, "I see you don't realize how outclassed you are. Looks like I'll have to teach you."

Shizune glared, "Don't underestimate me; it could cost you your life."

"I highly doubt that." Kabuto replied, as though he was correcting a child, "You're welcome to try and defeat me though."

Gaara stood before Orochimaru, sand whipping around him all the while, "Orochimaru; you'll pay for what you did to the Kazekage, and for trying to bring war between Suna and Konoha."

"Avenging the death of a man who tried to kill you?" Orochimaru laughed, "That's a bit odd, don't you think?"

"I honestly don't care about that fact. He was still the Kazekage. As a shinobi, it's my duty to bring those who threaten my fellow ninja to justice." Gaara answered before going through several hand seals and placing a palm on the ground, "**_Doton: Genkoudanpen no Jutsu!_**"

Several clods of earth burst out of the ground, flying at Orochimaru with great speed. The Sannin dodged all of them skillfully while lessening the distance between him and the Jinchuuriki boy.

Gaara stood up and hopped back while raising a single hand, calling forth a tendril of sand to ensnare the Snake Sannin. Orochimaru stopped himself, sidestepping the sand and rushing forward once more.

Kusanagi tried to pierce the grains of sand, luckily Gaara had managed to wrap enough of the fine grained material around the steel, holding it back from stabbing him the the stomach. Orochimaru locked eyes with the sand-user, "You've gotten faster."

"Among other things." Gaara replied. A dozen more streams of sand shot out, attempting to capture Orochimaru. The Sannin faded from view, reappearing on top of Manda's head.

"Manda, feast on that boy if you like. He's of no use to me alive."

**"Tch, like you giving permission makes any difference." **Manda shot back, opening his mouth wide and lunging at Gaara. The sand-user gathered all the sand he had in an attempt to form a dome around him.

"**_Katon: Gamuya Endan!_**"

A stream of flames connected with the side of Manda, scorching him instantly, along with Orochimaru. Gaara looked up to see the flames' source was Jiraiya and Gamabunta using a combined jutsu, Jiraiya creating the flames and Gamabunta giving the oil for the flames.

Jiraiya eventually stopped blowing flames, and called down to Gaara, "You alright down there?"

"Thanks, Jiraiya-sensei." Gaara called back, "I find it hard to believe that Manda was taken out so easily though."

Jiraiya frowned, "I was thinking the same thing." Jiraiya turned to the burning coils of snake skin. His eyes widened suddenly, and he turned back to Gaara, "Gaara! Move!!!"

Gaara barely had a chance to react, for right behind him emerged the jaws of Manda. Gaara turned around, and all he saw was black.

1919191919

Naruto watched in horror as Gaara was swallowed whole by Manda. He wasn't even aware when he heard Tsunade, who was heading towards him, to move. Manda turned towards the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, eyes set on him now.

"Gaara...no..." Naruto spoke.

Gaara; the one boy he knew that lived with a curse like his. A boy who could understand what it truly means to have friends, and just how horrible it is to be alone. The boy who he had saved from seclusion and who had given him a bond that one would see between brothers.

Naruto's brother in all but blood had just been eaten before his very eyes.

"Gaara!!!"

Naruto held his head in his hands, fighting off the sudden burning sensation that came with the Kyuubi's chakra. He grit his teeth, "I won't lose control, I won't lose control!! Not now...I-"

**"Graagh!!"**

Naruto looked up to see Manda groaning in what seemed to be horrible pain. The snake lurched forward while twisting and coiling constantly.

Then Naruto felt it. Gaara's life force.

"H-he's alive!" Naruto shouted to himself, "Haha! He's alive!!"

1919191919

_"Where...am I?"_

**_"You'll be in the afterlife if you don't do something quick!"_**

_ "Ichibi?"_

**_"Yes, now hurry up and get out of here!"_**

Gaara smelled what he could only associate with something burning. His skin was irritated, he couldn't breath, and he suddenly remembered that he was inside the belly of a snake.

_"I can't die. Not here. Not with the rest of them still out there fighting."_ Gaara thought, and began to move the damp sand around him as much as possible.

1919191919

**"Grk! W-what the hell??" ** Manda growled, **"Gaah, my stomach!!" **

Orochimaru could feel movement within Manda, and watched as Manda vomited onto the ground below. Amongst the bile and spit he could make out the form of Gaara, covered in mucus and goo. A moment later Manda coughed up some blood.

"What happened?" Orochimaru inquired, irritation evident in his voice.

**"I don't know, but that damned brat did something to my insides."** Manda replied, **"That's it, Orochimaru, you're on your own! Next time we meet, be prepared to face punishment for summoning me in such conditions!"** With that, Manda disappeared in a giant plume of smoke.

"To think..." Orochimaru snarled, looking at the slowly rising form of Gaara, "...between these two Jinchuuriki, I don't know which one is worse."

Gaara struggled to take in air, the putrid smell of stomach bile filling his nostrils as he coughed. He looked on to see Orochimaru heading towards him, sword wrapped around his tongue still. He couldn't call upon his sand, seeing as it was weighed down by the digestive juices of Manda.

Gaara felt a pain run through his leg, and looked to see the Kusanagi extended and pinning his leg to the ground. He grunted in pain as the Sannin walked towards him, "Kukuku, how sad. You managed to avoid being food for Manda, only to be slain by my blade."

Gaara, didn't stop though. Instead, he went through a set of hand seals he was familiar with, and pressed a palm to the ground. He felt a pull on his chakra coils, and strained to pour enough power into the technique, "I won't miss you this time."

Orochimaru let go of his blade as several pieces of earth flew at him a second time. He wasn't quick enough though, having a piece lodge into his left leg.

"No!"

Gaara lifted a palm and spoke, "**_Doton: Genkoudanpen no Jutsu!_**"

Pieces of debris erupted from Orochimaru's leg, causing him to scream in pain as his leg became limp. He ignored the pain, and took note that he still had limited mobility of the injured limb. He looked behind the red haired boy, and saw Kusanagi laying behind him, the young Chuunin having yanked it out of his leg and thrown it aside while having his sand trying to clot the bleeding.

"A clever maneuver, Gaara. Unfortunately, it seems that you've left yourself completely open, and I can tell you're growing tired."

Kusanagi suddenly lifted into the air, the point aimed at Gaara's spine.

A flash of light blond caught Orochimaru's eyes, and he heard a cry of pain. There by Gaara's side was Tsunade, Kusanagi lodged through her right shoulder. She had managed to get to the boy just in time to move him to the side, though it cost her a serious injury.

Gaara had no idea what had happened, but he felt to trembling arms wrapped around his body. He also saw the point of Kusanagi less that a foot away from his face. He turned to see who had a hold of him, and his eyes widened a little.

"Tsunade-san...you're shoulder..." Gaara spoke, taking in the amount of blood spattering her clothes. She may have ruptured an artery, though Gaara wasn't an expert of anatomy so he was unsure.

Tsunade chuckled weakly, "I'm...alright...c-can you help me and pull out that blade?"

"Pulling it out without proper medical supplies could be-"

"Gaara, I'm a master in the field of medic-nin practice, just yank the damn sword out of my shoulder already!" Tsunade growled. Gaara hesitantly grabbed a hold of the sword's handle, and after Tsunade gave him a weak nod, pulled it out. She cried in pain, but waved Gaara off when he tried to pull of his shirt to apply pressure to the wound, "Just...hold me steady. I can fix this."

"How?"

Tsunade took in a few deep breaths, and spoke calmly, "**_Infuin: Kai!_**" Gaara watched as the diamond seal on the Slug Sannin's forehead glowed before turning purple. Her chakra level spiked up before she continued, "**_Sozo Saisei!_**"

Strange markings began to form around her body, and Gaara watched in amazement as the wound on her shoulder closed up, leaving no marks of ever being existing. He could see her muscles tighten for a moment before she let out a breath and relaxed.

"You're wounds are healed..." Orochimaru noted, Kusanagi still held within his tongue and pointed in her direction, "Going and using such a technique seemed to require a lot of your chakra. That could have been avoided if you had decided to simply leave that boy be. What makes him so important that you'd go and take a stab in the shoulder from my blade?"

Tsunade smirked, "You ask why I'd go and sacrifice my safety for a younger shinobi like that? That's because I'm the future Godaime Hokage! I _cannot_ allow you, nor anyone who threatens Konoha's safety, to harm those that are under my care!"

"Tsunade-san...?" Gaara spoke, a bit surprised by her sudden declaration.

The blond smiled, "I'm fine. Let me take a look at that thigh of yours." She held a hand over his injury, and began to apply chakra to the wound. In only a few moments time, the wound had healed up, leaving only a small scar in its place, "That's all I can do for now." She stood up, looking to Orochimaru, "I'll take it from here, Gaara. You boys both did well."

"You healed that up so quickly." Gaara stated, "How did you do-?'

"It's a special technique of mine. Don't worry about it. Go help Naruto and Shizune with Kabuto, alright?"

"Very well." Gaara slowly got up, and was relieved to find no pain in his leg aside from a dull throbbing. He noticed that both Gamabunta and Katsuyu were gone, likely because Orochimaru was both injured and without a summon that posed a threat to the two Sannin. Numerous pieces of snake parts were now littering the field too now.

Gaara looked to see both Naruto and Shizune locked in combat with Kabuto, Naruto attempting to slice at him with wind techniques, though this proved to be difficult as Shizune was also close by. Any attempts to attack with his wind would likely hurt Shizune as well.

Looks like Gaara would have to do something about that dilemma.

1919191919

Shizune grunted as she blocked a hand that sparked with chakra, her own chakra blades glowing on either hand. Shizune's taijutsu wasn't that great, to be quite honest, but when you were using chakra dissection blades, shinobi tended to avoid close combat if possible.

"Looks like you're getting tired." Kabuto commented, "Maybe you should have just given up when you had the chance, hm?"

Shizune pushed back and spun around while almost slicing open Kabuto's forehead. The silver haired medic-nin just smirked while blocking a kick with his knee, then delivering a light jab to her abdomen. She coughed up blood, obviously having been hit by the chakra blade, and now bleeding internally. She fell to the ground, trying to heal herself. Unfortunately, this proved to be quite difficult with her steadily weakening body.

"Shizune!!" Naruto shouted, throwing all caution to the wind and charging at Kabuto.

"N-Naru-" Shizune coughed a bit, "Get back!"

"Eat this, bastard! _**Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu**_!!" Naruto cried out, blasting another wave of pressurized air. Kabuto managed to avoid the blast, jumping off to the side as the attack blasted into several rocks, blowing several of the chunks of granite across the battle ground.

Kabuto quickly sprinted forward, "That attack of yours is too slow to work against me, Naruto!"

Shizune forced herself to stand up, pulling back one of her sleeves to reveal a wristband with a needle projectile launcher attached to it. She pulled back a string, and shot several needles at Kabuto.

Kabuto turned around as the sound of metal whizzing through the air could be heard. He leaned back, avoiding two needles, though three of them lodged into his arm. Kabuto quickly removed the needles, and cursed under his breath as he saw a clear liquid dripping from the tip of the needles.

"Poison. Damn it!" Kabuto began to feel the apparent effects of the poison kicking in, his eyes losing the ability focus clearly. He spun around as Naruto returned to his feet while drawing a kunai from his pouch. Kabuto quickly jumped to the side, though he was finding it hard to maintain balance, his world spinning whenever he moved too quickly.

Just when he thought his situation couldn't get worse, Kabuto felt something rough and coarse grab a hold of his feet. He looked to see light brown clouds of what he could only guess was sand gathering around his feet. He tried to move, but this resulted in him almost falling over.

"_**Rasengan**_!!!"

Kabuto could barely make out the blond Chuunin heading towards him with a glowing ball in his hands. The next thing he knew, he felt an immense pain in his abdomen, looking down to see Naruto hit him dead-on with this most powerful jutsu.

Kabuto forced chakra into his hands, and just before being blasted back, made contact with Naruto's left pectoral. Naruto lurched forward as Kabuto was sent reeling back, smashing into a tree and falling to the ground.

Naruto coughed up blood, and rolled onto his side, "Gah...wh-what the hell di-" Naruto coughed more, his voice being cut off as he felt warm liquid running down the side of his mouth.

Shizune rushed forward, ignoring her own pain, "Naruto, j-just hang in there." She knelt down by his side, and moved a hand over the spot Naruto's hands were clutching. She let healing chakra flow into her hands, "Just calm down for a moment...I can..." She felt her strength draining, but forced her chakra to continue flowing, "...you've been hit right next to the heart, Naruto. I...I have to heal it."

Naruto looked to the medic, smiling a little, "Did you see it? I got him with the Rasengan...heh..."

Shizune kept her eyes glued on the blonds chest, having pulled away his shirt, but she spared him a smile, "You did great, Naruto-kun."

Gaara was soon by Shizune's side, "Is Naruto alright?"

"He'll be fine. The injury wasn't as bad as I had suspected, but it needs to be taken care of immediately." Shizune replied as she continued to heal the internal wounds.

Gaara turned his attention over to Kabuto, who was by Orochimaru's side, and healing the wounds that Naruto had inflicted with his last attack. How the silver haired man was able to recover so quickly was nothing outside of extraordinary. Then again, Naruto and himself were able to heal at a rapid pace compared to other humans. Seeing as Kabuto was a medical shinobi as well as a fairly intelligent man, he supposed it shouldn't be that much of a surprise.

"Game over, Orochimaru." Jiraiya spoke as he and Tsunade stood before the injured Sannin.

Orochimaru looked haggard, and it didn't help that his one other bit of support had been poisoned and was hit with a Rasengan. He growled while glaring at the two Jinchuuriki who had caused so much trouble, then turned back to his two former teammates, "I suppose we've overstayed our welcome. This will probably set my plans back even further, but mark my words..." He grinned, despite his injuries, "...I will return, and next time there won't be a chance to fight back. The lack of arms can easily be fixed. Your student was a genius in some regards, Jiraiya, but Minato died a fool like everyone else who lives in that damned village will. I have the secret to immortality, and with it, _I_ will continue to live."

The two Oto-nin disappeared with a large plume of smoke. Jiraiya took a step forward, but Tsunade held a hand out before him, "Don't. We have bigger problems to worry about."

Jiraiya followed her gaze to see a weak Shizune doing her best to heal Naruto, while Gaara stood before them with weak acid burns on his skin. Jiraiya let out a sigh, "Right. The snake got away again, but I doubt he'll be able to fight back for quite awhile."

"Heh," Tsunade looked to her old teammate, a grin on her face, "Looks like we're not as rusty as I thought."

Jiraiya smirked, "If I didn't know any better, Tsunade, I'd say that there's a bit of fire burning in your eyes again. I recognize that look from a mile away."

Tsunade blinked before blushing lightly, "Yeah, well...it's been awhile since I've gotten a chance to fight like that. It felt...reinvigorating."

"I guess it would." Jiraiya replied, "We should go help them."

Tsunade nodded, "Right."

- - - - -

Temari scratched her left arm a bit, "There's that tingling again..."

Sakura, who was taking a break from training with Tayuya, Temari, Kankuro, and Sasuke, spoke, "What's wrong, Temari?"

The blond shook her head, "Not sure, really. My left arm's been tingling a bit. It's not really painful, but it's definitely irritating."

Tayuya piped in, "Maybe you're stressing your arms too much?"

Temari instead rolled up her sleeves, and looked at the seal on her upper arm, "Hm. The seal's acting up. Maybe Naruto called Kamatari."

"Kamatari? You mean that weasel summon you and Naruto have?" Sasuke asked, "How can you tell?"

Kankuro spoke, "It's a mutual summoner's seal. Whenever Naruto or Temari summons Kamatari, the other summoner will know so that if they tried to summon the weasel that they wouldn't be wasting time when they know he's already been called upon."

Temari nodded, "Kankuro's got the basic idea. Though, if he's summoned, it makes me wonder why he-" The tingling suddenly stopped, and Temari took a good look at the seal on her arm, "Weird. Now I don't feel anything."

"Maybe you should summon Kamatari?" Kankuro suggested.

Temari nodded, unfolding her fan and drawing some blood before calling forth her summon. The weasel in question appeared before her in a puff of smoke, nodding, "Heh, Naruto was right to summon me. Jiraiya said we should send a toad, but it'd take less time for me to just be summoned here than for a toad to travel to Konoha."

"What happened? Is Naruto alright?"

Kamatari sighed, "He's alright, but he received a nearly fatal injury. It was a good thing that two of the best medic ninja in all of the Elemental Nations were by his side."

Temari's eyes grew fearful, "_Nearly fatal_?? What?? Who was he fighting??"

Kamatari raised a paw, "Temari, you need to calm down. Look, I can't tell you directly, but I have a message for the Hokage." He turned to Sasuke, Sakura, and Tayuya, "I _officially_ have to give this message to one of you three, namely because this scroll is for Konoha's sake."

Sakura held out her hand, "I can take the scroll."

The white weasel smiled, "Thanks." He looked to Temari and gave her a small grin, "Temari, I promise that Naruto's alright. Okay? He's just resting right now, but he was awake and able to summon me so I could get your attention. He figured you'd be worried the minute you felt your arm tingle."

The blond haired kunoichi sighed, "Fine, but he better promise me not to get killed. How is Gaara doing?"

"Better than Naruto, unsurprisingly." Kamatari replied.

Kankuro chuckled, "I could have called that one."

Tayuya raised an eyebrow and turned to Sakura, "Naruto? Is he one of the Chuunin who got promoted recently? I think I heard you or Sasuke saying he was a teammate of yours, right?"

"_Was_ being the key word." Sasuke replied, though he raised a hand when Sakura gave him a warning look, "He's a shinobi of Suna now, as well as Konoha. He's part of the dual shinobi registration idea that was put into effect just recently."

Tayuya nodded, "So, from what it sounds like, he's a pretty reckless guy, huh?"

"Reckless isn't doing the idiot justice." Kankuro answered, earning a light elbow from Temari, "Still, he's got guts. I'd put my life in his hands without a moment's hesitation."

"Yeah, that and Temari has dibs on him. Don't even think about trying to date him." Sakura added with a grin, causing the Suna-kunoichi to sigh while rolling her eyes, "Naruto's a lovable guy, but he's a free spirit."

"Someone has to keep the dobe anchored to the ground." Sasuke added.

Tayuya grinned, "Really?" She looked to Temari, "He sounds like a real challenge, if you ask me."

Temari gave a flat look to Tayuya, "Look, he's my boyfriend. Nothing more to say about it, okay?"

"She'll probably force him into wedlock by the time he's legal."

After a smack with her fan onto Kankuro's head, Temari let out a huff, "Okay, okay, enough!" She looked to Kamatari, "We'll bring the message to the Hokage. Tell Naruto that if he so much as does a sit-up until he's completely healed, he'll have to answer to me."

Kamatari grinned, "Yes ma'am." He gave her a salute before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura looked at the scroll in her hands, "Well, we better bring this to the Hokage as soon as possible."

The five shinobi headed off towards the Hokage's Tower, hoping to find out the latest on their friends and their secret mission.

- - - - -

"Well, I heard that our target has passed through here. He apparently got in a bit of a scuffle with Orochimaru of all people."

"We should make our move then, Kisame. No doubt he's probably weak from the fight."

Kisame looked to his partner, a grin forming on his face, "I like your thinking, Itachi."

The two nuke-nin headed into the village, straw hats shadowing their features. If their information was correct, their target was likely asleep in a bed, recovering from chakra exhaustion and heavy wounds. If they made this quick, they would be able to capture Naruto Uzumaki without any obstacles whatsoever.

**End of Chapter Nineteen: Gah, finally got this chapter finished! So, as you can see, Naruto's capable of making a one-handed Rasengan in this story, instead of relying on another clone to help stabilize the jutsu. As far as any of the alternate versions of the Rasengan, I have yet to decide on how he'll go about that.**

**As for Tsunade, yeah, she didn't seem to be as stubborn with her refusal. Well, that's the way I'm doing it. I'll touch more upon it later, perhaps, but it's fanfiction. If I went about things exactly as they occurred in the actual series, well, that wouldn't be fanfiction, would it? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading! Keep an eye out for the next one!**

**As always, I want to extend a huge thanks to Paradox Jast, the all-powerful beta who helps me improve what I write, especially in regards to this chapter.**


	20. Dawning of the Hunt

**Disclaimer: If Naruto were owned by me, Kakashi would have been made Hokage by now, even if he claimed he would have been a horrible leader. I'd do it namely because he'd look good with the hat. Anyway, Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Chap. 20: Dawning of the Hunt**

"Thanks again for helping me with Genjutsu today, Tayuya. It's great to have someone my age who's so experienced in that area of shinobi techniques."

"Sure thing, Sakura. Glad to help." Tayuya replied, a small smile tugging on her lips. It had been a little over five days since the incident with Temari getting a message from Naruto to deliver to the Hokage. The Suna kunoichi never stated the exact reason why, but she seemed to become even more focused on her training since she got word of Naruto and Gaara's fight. Kankuro suspected that it was her way of keeping herself occupied so she wouldn't continue to worry about the two.

"Hey, Tayuya...can I ask you a question?"

Tayuya didn't let the hesitancy slip past her senses, "What's up?"

Sakura fiddled with the kunai in her hand that she had been cleaning, "If...if you like someone, but you're worried that letting them know will tear apart another friendship you have...what do you do?"

Oh boy; relationships, Tayuya's weaker field in terms of experience and knowledge, "Hell if I know. I never understood men that well. They either have their mind in the gutter when they're talking to you, or they just don't listen. Especially after they've had several rounds at a bar before hand."

Sakura gave a laugh, "Right, yet somehow they attract me." She shook her head before returning her attention to the kunai, "Never mind, Tayuya. It was a hypothetical question."

Tayuya was a bit perturbed to find herself concerned with the rosette before her. She had slowly found herself becoming familiar with the girl since she joined Team Seven. What scared her even more was that she had yet to send any reports out to Orochimaru. She could have on several occasions given information she gleaned from a bit of scrounging around in the Hokage Tower halls. She had found it relatively easy to get past the shinobi guards, and had managed to get information on the current number of registered shinobi, the names of the shinobi with the highest standings in Konoha—Kakashi was among them, obviously—and other valuable information.

Nevertheless, she still kept in mind that her main objective was to try and see if there was a way to get Sasuke out of Konoha and to join the forces of Oto. Orochimaru didn't have much more time, if her information was right. The sooner she got the Uchiha into the Snake Summoner's hands, the sooner she'd be able to leave Konohagakure.

Possibly the most disturbing thought, however, was the fact that she was questioning herself more often these days. She wondered such things like, _"If I betray Konoha, how much information would I be able to give while still giving the village a fighting chance against Orochimaru?" _or, _"Would it be safe on my part to reveal who I truly am to Sakura before knocking her out and leaving for Oto with Sasuke?" _or, and this was the one that made her lose a good two hours of sleep, _"Do I really _want_ to betray a village that has treated me better than my own home?_

She didn't know if it was something in the water, or just a psychological disorder she was developing from the stress of being a kunoichi, but she found herself actually feeling like she belonged in the village of the Hidden Leaf.

"I won't tell anyone, Sakura."

Sakura blinked as she looked to see the pale green eyes of Tayuya locked with her own. The ex-kunoichi of Kirigakure gave the slightest of grins, "Besides, Ino will somehow force it out of you one way or another. May as well speak now."

Sakura took in a breath before exhaling, "You promise to not tell anyone?"

Tayuya was quiet for a moment before she spoke, "On my honor as a kunoichi of Konoha, I promise."

The rosette gave a weak smile before looking to the ground, "It's Naruto."

Tayuya raised an eyebrow before speaking again, "Sakura..."

"I know, I _know_...what kind of person am I? Temari and him are perfect for each other, but I..." She set the kunai on the ground before she continued, "Tayuya, I'm messed up, aren't I?"

"Sakura, as a girl who's killed people twice her age, I don't think I have a right to answer that question."

"Heh, right...we're shinobi. We don't really have exactly normal lives." The rosette leaned back a bit, "I want to tell him, but that could be a bad idea as well. First off, he used to continually ask me on dates—which by the way I always rejected on instinct—and Temari's a good friend of mine. The last thing I want to do is lose one, if not two, of my friends."

Tayuya grunted in understanding. She took a look at a clock on the wall of a stand nearby, "It's five o' six, Sakura. What do you say we go find some nice little bar and pretend to flirt with a few Chuunin while they pay for our drinks?"

Sakura's eyes widened, "Tayuya, you're joking, right?"

Tayuya gave a bark of laughter, "Hell no! According to the laws of Konoha, we're both legally able to drink. It's a little loophole in the bylaws of Konoha; a shinobi can legally have a blood-alcohol content of point zero five percent while not on active duty. However, 'on active duty' relates towards being on missions. None of us have anything going on, right?"

Sakura seemed to still be wrapping her mind around the idea, "I-I can't do that. I've never had anything but a small bowl of sake with my mom during the New Year's festival last year. I've never-"

Tayuya laughed, "Sakura, I promise I'll keep an eye on you. Hell, maybe we can even get the girls to join us."

"...Tayuya, you've been hanging around Ino too much." Sakura commented, earning a chuckle from the other kunoichi.

"Come on. Temari's probably looking for something to distract her from training, Ino's not doing any missions today, Tenten said she was free for anything this week after two in the afternoon, and I'm positive Hinata wouldn't mind getting out of the stuffy Hyuuga estate." Tayuya stood up while offering a hand to Sakura, "We deserve a break once in awhile, too."

Sakura grinned before accepting the hand and being helped up, "Alright, but...nothing too strong. I can only imagine what would happen to me if I spent the night hopping from bar to bar."

"Hey, I said I'd look after you." Tayuya raised the pitch of her voice a little, "Quit being a stick in the mud, Forehead."

"...if you start wearing purple and dying your hair blond, I'll disown you forever. The world's not ready for a second Ino Yamanaka." The two girls laughed, heading out to find their friends and have a night to themselves.

2020202020

"Twenty-seven hundred a night? That's robbery!"

"Naruto, that's actually a fairly decent price for a hotel with four stars." Gaara spoke, looking at a brochure for the 'Swimming Lily Hotel' by a river in the northeastern region of Fire Country.

"Fine..." Naruto dug into his wallet and produced a roll of ryo, "One room for two please."

"Certainly, sir." The desk receptionist took the money and then handed Naruto and Gaara each a key to the room labeled 235, "The room has two beds, air conditioning, and a wonderful view of the town through the window."

"Thanks." Naruto took the two keys, handing one to Gaara while pocketing the other, "Any places that have good food around here?"

"I can't say for sure. The war with Earth and Rice Country has hurt our trade from the west a bit. Most of the food we would have around here is local, but a lot of our grain comes from the fields just bordering River Country." replied the receptionist, "We have a lot of farmland in southern Fire Country, but up here we have soil that's not as good for grains." He shrugged his shoulders, "The western front is a pretty sketchy area for merchants to travel on right now. I heard they've been having bridges destroyed left and right just east of Grass Country's borders."

"I'm not surprised; Iwa is known for their sabotage of transportation routes." Gaara spoke quietly as he set down the brochure, "We'll only be here for a night. Thank you."

Two minutes later found the boys walking into their room. It was a fairly nice room, and the beds _were _queen size.

"We still have time before _The World of Dining with Aina-chan_ starts." Gaara said as he looked at a clock, "Let's go get something to eat."

Naruto gave a nod, setting down his bag and other belongings, "I've had a craving for fish all day. Let's see if there's a smokehouse around here serving salmon or trout."

In no time at all, the two Chuunin were walking the main drag of the town. The paper lanterns were being lit by the various stand owners that were stationed on the streets, and various smells invaded the nostrils of the boys.

"Naruto, I think I smell fish." Gaara spoke, "That way, I think."

Naruto grinned, "Haha, yeah, that looks like a good place to eat. Let's go!"

In less than five minutes, the two were seated at a table facing out to the river that ran east of the town. The waiter handed them menus and gave them time to make their selections.

The past few days had been a bit slow-going for Naruto and the others. Jiraiya had claimed it a smart idea to take a longer route back to Konoha by going southeast instead of straight south. He stated it was because of safety precautions; Otogakure was already attacking outposts within Fire Country on a small scale, and with their recent battle against Orochimaru, they didn't want to risk further conflicts until after Tsunade was safely within the Hidden Leaf village.

Gaara had questioned this logic, stating that Otogakure was more likely to attack from the east, considering there was a neutral country that they could station forces in while still posing a risk from the north as well, where Rice Country lay.

Jiraiya had told Gaara that he made a good point, but sometimes the best way to avoid risks was by teetering on the razor's edge. Naruto called that logic crap and stated there was just more brothels in the eastern region than the west for Jiraiya to visit. Tsunade, much to their surprise, didn't voice any objections to Jiraiya's decision.

As the two ate their meals, they conversed on the current state of the Elemental Countries, "So, from what I hear, Kumo hasn't even put a foothold on where they wish to stand in the war."

Gaara nodded, "It would appear that way. I asked Jiraiya-sensei about that, he simply said that Kumo probably is either waiting for the opportune moment to strike Konoha, or they wish to remain neutral. Then again, I'm betting that all of the shinobi villages are going to be involved sooner than later."

Before further discussion could be made, a shadow cast itself over the table that Gaara and Naruto were eating on. They paused, and looked to each other before looking up to see who had interrupted their meal.

The first thing they noticed was that there were two people before them. They both had straw hats of sorts, and black robes adorned with red clouds. Naruto personally thought that the colors made them stand out too much. Hell, even orange was a better choice in his opinion—then again, everything was lesser in the color spectrum to that of orange—so he doubted these doubted the two were trying to be subtle with their presence at the moment.

"Can we help you two gentlemen?" Gaara asked, setting down his chopsticks.

The taller of the two laughed, "Heh, the redhead's polite." He shifted a bandaged mass tied to his back before continuing, "Hey, Itachi, were we supposed to capture only the brat with the Kyuubi? I personally think it'd be more interesting to bring both to the boss."

The shorter of the two, Itachi, or so he was called, didn't move as he spoke, "We were informed that securing the Ichibi would be fine, as long as we captured the Kyuubi first."

Both boys were on high alert immediately, pushing their chairs back and getting into a stance. A few of the other patrons looked to the sound of their chairs hitting the floor. Naruto cursed under this breath, "Damn it. Gaara...we can't be fighting here."

"Agreed." Gaara spoke, holding two sand shuriken in either of his palms. He locked eyes with the one named Itachi, "Fighting here wouldn't be good for either of us, as you're aware. Civilians are obstacles."

The taller man laughed again, "Smart too, heheh. What do you say, Itachi? Let's humor them. Take them outside."

The two boys suddenly felt like their world was spinning, colors blending together as they watched the two robed men burst into a flock of crows. The black birds cawed as they fluttered around the room before flying out one of the nearby windows.

Eventually the spinning stopped, and the two Jinchuuriki found themselves still sitting at the table they had been eating at. Gaara was the first to speak, shaking his head a bit, "We were under a Genjutsu?"

Naruto groaned as he rubbed one of his temples, "Must've been. No wonder I never sensed any danger...I suck at making and detecting Genjutsu."

Gaara looked around the restaurant, not surprised to see that the scenery before them had changed very little, "We must have been caught in it the moment we entered this place." The red haired teen was quiet for a moment before continuing, "The waitress that seated us. She was the only person we came into contact with."

Naruto's brow furrowed, "You think one of them was disguised as her?"

"We don't even know what our attackers really look like. For all we know, they could have just made up those appearances." Gaara pushed his food to the side, "If that's the case, we can't be here any longer. We're targets."

"Yeah, but leaving won't help at all either." Naruto grumbled, "They _want_ us to leave."

Gaara placed his payment for the meal on the table, "We should go and look for Jiraiya-sensei or Tsunade-san."

The blond placed down a few ryo notes before getting up, "Right."

The two boys left the restaurant quickly, heading down the main road while avoiding the alleyways and side streets. Much to their dismay, they couldn't locate their sensei nor the future Godaime in any of the buildings on the main drag.

"Gaara...does something seem odd to you?"

"Like what?" Gaara asked.

"...we've walked past that tavern four times already." Naruto noted, nodding over to a dimly lit tavern, "I think they're still holding us under their illusion."

"You're right." Gaara spoke, "Looks like we need to break from this ourselves."

Naruto and Gaara put their hands together and both shouted "Kai!" while sending out chakra throughout their body.

Gaara watched as the world before them melted into a scenery of trees and shrubs. He looked to his side to see Naruto looking around, "Hey, Gaara...nothing changed. How about you?"

"We're in a forest."

Naruto sighed, "Still the same for you too? Damn..." Naruto put his hands back together, "Kai!"

"...Naruto, I said we're-"

Naruto growled, "I'm _trying_ to get us out of this Genjutsu. I'm a dud with breaking illusions, remember?" The blond rolled his eyes, looking to thin air by his side, "Well, yeah, maybe we really are in the town..."

Gaara closed his eyes while shaking his head, and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. He channeled chakra into the blond's system, and Naruto's eyes blinked rapidly before he looked around. His eyes rested on Gaara before his face reddened, "Oh...thanks, Gaara."

"Not a problem." Gaara looked around, "It seems they lead us to a woods through Genjutsu. We must have headed towards it between entering to the restaurant and and now."

The rippling of chakra running through the air was sensed immediately by the two boys. They jumped into the trees just as a giant stream of water smashed into the ground they had been standing on only moments ago. Naruto pulled out a handful of shuriken while Gaara uncorked his gourd.

"Damn, Itachi, they're faster than they look. Especially the Ichibi brat, heh."

The two figures from earlier appeared in a clearing below Naruto and Gaara, though they were not wearing the straw hats they had in the illusion. The one named Itachi was a raven haired man, his body cloaked in the same robes as they had first 'seen' him in. His eyes were an onyx color, and his face was rather unreadable. What immediately caught Naruto's attention, however, was the hitai-ite he wore; it bore the symbol of Konoha, though there was a slash mark across the leaf emblem.

The other man was a bit taller than Itachi, and he had the strangest color of blue skin and hair. His eyes were almost beady, like a shark. Hell, he looked to be a combination between man and shark, more or less. If not to further support the possibility, his teeth were all sharp and much like that of the predatory fish. The final feature that caught the two boys' eyes was the hitai-ite belonging to Kirigakure, also possessing a single slash across the symbol.

"Kisame, we'll handle this quickly. No doubt we'll have interference from the others accompanying these two if we take too long." Itachi spoke, his voice almost monotone with the lack of emotion.

"Heh, I'd rather drag this on a bit." Kisame unstrapped the massive bundle tied to his back, revealing a sword-shaped weapon that was wrapped in bandages, "So, who you you want? The Ichibi or the Kyuubi?"

"It makes no difference." Itachi spoke.

Gaara seemed to have a solution for that question, throwing several sand shuriken at the man named Kisame. The blue skinned man laughed while raising his sword, blocking the granular projectiles, "Looks like they already decided for us!" Kisame jumped into the air, sword raised, "I'll just take a little off the top for you!!"

Gaara's sand automatically raised itself before the massive weapon, defending the teen from receiving any damage. The sand user narrowed his eyes, "_**Sabaku Kyu**_."

Kisame was encased in a shell of sand, his eyes widening a little by the sudden counter, "-the hell?!"

"It's over." Gaara's voice showed no emotion as he raised a single hand, "_**Sabaku Sousou**_."

The sand surrounding Kisame imploded, sending out an explosion of sand and...water?

Naruto saw the figure of Kisame appear behind Gaara, "Gaara, behind you!!"

The sand rose once more as Kisame struck on the shell that formed around the Ichibi Jinchuuriki. Gaara hopped back while running through a string of seals, "_**Doton: Ganchuuso!**_"

Several sharpened spikes of earth erupted from below the tree which Kisame was perched on. The water-using shinobi jumped out of harm's way, continuing his pursuit of Gaara.

Naruto was about to assist Gaara in fighting the missing-nin when the sound of steel whizzing through the air vibrated in his ears. He quickly rolled to the side of the branch he was on as four kunai embedded themselves into the tree behind him. He looked to see Itachi standing calmly below him, one arm tucked into his cloak, "You shouldn't be so careless, Naruto-kun. If it weren't for the fact that we need to procure you alive, I could have killed you several times over by now."

"Oh, shut up!!" Naruto threw his shuriken while running through several seals, "Try this on for size! _**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_!!!"

The shuriken erupted into smoke before several hundred appeared in the air, all heading towards the Uchiha. Itachi remained in place, closing his eyes, "Impressive, but nothing that can stand up to my power." Itachi quickly pulled his hand out to his sleeve while crouching and drawing on several shuriken. The sound of hundreds of metal weapons hitting each other echoed through the woods.

"Uh...but..." Naruto felt his jaw go slack; Itachi seemed to prevent any damage to himself by launching hundreds of his own shuriken, every single one blocking the ones the young Chuunin had thrown. The blond grit his teeth while pumping chakra into his legs and rocketing off the branch. The limb of the mighty tree snapped as Naruto flew at Itachi, fist cocked as he attempted to knock the stoic man's clock off.

_Wham!!!_

Naruto felt his arm go numb as his arm came into contact with Itachi's open palm. The Uchiha looked to Naruto before speaking, "A frontal assault like that won't work with your level of skill, Naruto-kun."

"You're wrong." Naruto retorted, a smirk on his face. Itachi's eyes widened a noticeable amount as Naruto chuckled, "Got you good," He caught Itachi by the robe, "Sayonara, bastard."

An explosion rocked the forest as Naruto's _**Bunshin Daibakuha**_ created a decent sized crater in the small clearing. The real Naruto watched from the cover of the leafy canopy, nodding to himself. He waited for the smoke to clear, anticipating the body to be lying there.

Sure enough, the dark clothed man's body was in the center of the crater, unmoving.

_Poof!_

Naruto suppressed a series of profanities; the guy could use Shadow Clones too? This was going to make things much more difficult for him. He'd have to act now.

Summoning a Shadow Clone, Naruto spoke quickly, "Get back to the village. Look for Ero-Sennin and Tsunade-baachan and let them know what's going on."

The clone saluted before leaping off into the trees while Naruto burst out from his safety, landing on the ground below. He whipped out a kunai while blocking a shuriken that would have hit him in the back of the head.

"I must admit, Naruto-kun, you're much more skilled that our information had stated. You obviously are a capable shinobi for your rank and age." echoed the voice of Itachi. Naruto found it hard to pinpoint the man's voice, as it seemed to be coming from all directions, "I suppose it would be wise to not take you so lightly."

"Tch, that explains why you're hiding like a coward." Naruto groused, "It seems like you enjoy using Genjutsu and keeping your distance in a fight."

"I suppose that's partially true, though I can hold my own in unarmed combat just as well." spoke the voice of Itachi, "I could also say that you're a complete failure in Genjutsu and favor brawn over brains."

"You son of a-where the hell are you?!" Naruto shouted, "You don't know a thing about me!"

"Don't be so sure about that."

Naruto whirled around to see Itachi standing right behind him, "Damn it!" Naruto blocked a kick to the ribs with his arms, feeling his limbs get jarred by the impact. He flew back into a nearby tree, gasping as air left his lungs. Before he could get up, he felt a hand wrap around his neck.

"Tell me, Naruto-kun; how is my brother Sasuke doing?"

Naruto's eyes widened, "Y-you're Sasuke's...?!" His words were cut off as he was thrown to the ground. He coughed a bit as he jumped to his feet, "Bastard...why haven't I ever heard of you? If you're the brother of Sasuke, how come I never saw you in Konoha?"

"I'm a rogue-nin. That's why."

The blond felt his hands tighten into fists, "I'm going to go on a limb here and guess that you're the reason Sasuke has no family. Right?"

Itachi closed his eyes.

"Figures! It's the jerks like you that piss me off the most!!" Naruto opened up a palm while forming a Rasengan. He dashed at the elder Uchiha, the vortex of volatile, concentrated chakra spinning wildly in his hands, "_**Rasengan**_!!!"

Itachi caught Naruto by the wrist. He quickly followed through with one fluid motion, slamming a fist into his stomach, and then used the boy's momentum to throw him into yet another tree. Naruto cried out in pain as his head smacked against the hard surface. He struggled back to his feet, his vision getting blurry.

"You're determination is unbreakable, isn't it?"

Naruto spit out some blood, "I can't afford to lose to you, especially now that I know what you did to Sasuke. I've heard about the Uchiha Massacre...but not much." Naruto held his hand out again, "I'll beat you, even if it takes every ounce of my energy to do so!"

Itachi didn't budge an inch as he watched the young Chuunin try to keep himself steady, "Prove me wrong then, Naruto Uzumaki."

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Gaara grunted in pain as he pushed himself up. This opponent was not like any he had faced before. He didn't seem to grow tired in the least as he fought. If anything, he seemed to be getting stronger. Not to mention that Gaara was feeling a significant drain in his chakra as time wore on, which was saying a lot on the boy's part, considering he was a Jinchuuriki.

_"He has to have a weakness. All opponents have a weak point that can be exploited in battle." _Gaara thought, crouching against a tree as he gathered his his senses. The blue-skinned man had vanished after Gaara had attempted to smash him into the ground with several tendrils of sand, and now was hiding quite well.

It didn't help that Gaara was feeling Naruto's own chakra surging through the air. He could almost read the uneasiness permeating through the air with how much Naruto's chakra signature was saturating the air. Obviously these two men, whoever they were, knew how to go about fighting Naruto and Gaara.

That bothered the sand user. Not only did they know how to separate them, but they also knew about their bijuu. Apparently they were after them for some reason or another relating to the tailed beasts...whether they would be killed or simply imprisoned was unknown to Gaara.

Gaara decided to see if he could draw out his opponent. Going through a few seals, a column of sand rose out of the ground before forming into a humanoid shape. It slowly took on details before taking on the appearance of Gaara himself.

Gaara directed his sand clone into the clearing while keeping himself hidden under the foliage. The sand clone drew several sand shuriken out from an arm while surveying the area.

"_**Doton: Dochuu Senkou**_!!"

Gaara was able to catch a glimpse of white and gray smashed into his clone, scattering the granular particles in every direction. Gaara hopped up into a tree above while surveying the area. This man was fast too, it seemed. He had a definite edge in the area of _**Suiton**_, and now he demonstrated a rather unique earth style technique as well.

Looks like Gaara had to go to extreme measures. With a simple wave of his hand, sand spewed out of his gourd, covering the surrounding area for at least several dozen yards in every direction. Gaara landed on the sand, and sure enough, the sword that Kisame had been using came rising out of the ground. It almost resembled a shark's fin coming out of the water.

Gaara began to go through hand seals as the sword neared him. He just had to wait for the right moment to set his trap into motion.

As soon as Kisame crossed the boundary between the forest floor and the sand from Gaara's gourd, the Chuunin slammed a single open palm to the ground, "_**Gokusa Maisou**_!!"

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Tsunade and Jiraiya, along with a rather disheveled Shizune who was given the task of carrying around a rather empty briefcase containing the buxom blond's finances, exited another small casino in the village.

"Tsunade-sama, with all due respect, we don't have that much money left. Perhaps it would be best if we just save what we have and continue with our trip to Konoha?" Shizune asked, sending a pleading look to Jiraiya, who simply shook his head, already aware that he had little to no real influence on the situation.

"Just one more round of poker at the building across the street and I'll call it quits." Tsunade replied, rubbing her hands together, "I can feel it; this time I'm going to win big."

"Ero-Sennin!! Ero-Sennin!!"

Jiraiya groaned, looking around to see a worn-down Naruto heading towards him. Upon a closer inspection of the boy, he could immediately notice something was off about the blond.

He was a Shadow clone.

"What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked, his voice serious as he took in the panicked expression of the doppleganger.

"I-I don't know! One minute I'm walking with Gaara, the next we're ambushed by two guys with some stupid robes on! One of them has a Konoha hitai-ite with a slash across it, and the other has a Kirigakure hitai-ite with a slash as well. I think they're trying capture us or something."

Jiraiya's expression was grim. If the situation were less serious, he would have pointed out the fact that the clone was speaking as though he had experienced all the events himself, but decided to focus on the topic at hand, "What do the robes they wear look like?"

"Um, black with red clouds or something." The clone shook his head, "We were caught in a Genjutsu by one of the two, and end up finding ourselves in the woods to the east of here."

"Akatsuki..." Jiraiya said to himself, his fist tightening, "Damn, I was hoping we could avoid a confrontation with them." He turned to Tsunade and Shizune, who both looked concerned, "Every second we waste is a second that could end up costing Naruto and Gaara their lives." The Sannin looked to the clone, "Do you have enough strength to lead us back to the area you encountered them?"

"Y-yeah, sure!" The clone jumped up to the roof of one of buildings, "Follow me!"

The trio of shinobi followed the clone, the two kunoichi of the group unsure what was going on, but realizing that the lives of the two boys of their group were at stake. That was enough reason to trust Jiraiya's commands at the moment.

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Naruto felt a slight tremor run through the ground as he tried to hold himself up against a tree. Gaara must have just used a lot of chakra if the blond's senses were accurate. That could either mean one of two things; Gaara had finished off his opponent, or he was turning to desperate measures.

As far as his own situation went, Naruto wasn't doing too well. He had a few singed spots on his clothes thanks to the _Katon_ jutsu that Itachi had used against him throughout their battle. On top of that, the young Jinchuuriki was pretty sure Itachi had yet to sustain any real harm yet in their battle.

_"Damn...this guy's on a whole other playing field than me."_ Naruto pushed himself upright from the tree trunk, _"I can't let these guys beat us. I have to keep going until Ero-Sennin and Tsunade-baachan arrive..."_

Pulling out a kunai from his pouch, he got into a stance, trying to keep himself from falling over from the soreness in his legs. He twirled the blade in his fingers several times before throwing it towards the Uchiha. Itachi, as expected, avoided damage by simply catching by the handle with his hands. He looked up in time to see Naruto right in front of him.

"A reckless strategy, Naruto-kun." Itachi spoke in a lightly chiding tone, "I had expected you to develop a better plan with your current situation."

"Oh shut up!!!" Naruto growled, launching a fist to the Uchiha's face. Itachi simply blocked Naruto's attack with his free hand and threw it to the side before kicking him in the side. Naruto cried out in pain as he went flying into a tree and landing in a heap.

"I must admit, though, Naruto-kun," Itachi continued as he walked towards the beaten Chuunin, "You've lasted much longer than I had expected. Your skills are in need of work, but seeing your current situation, I doubt that's much of a concern anymore."

The blond felt the back of his head, warm liquid matting his hair. He looked at his hand to see blood, and cursed his luck. He couldn't keep a steady focus on the raven-haired man before him, but he could still sense his presence, "So...why do you want to capture all of us Jinchuuriki?"

"That's nothing you need worry about, seeing as you are going to die before we reach our goal." the Uchiha replied.

"Really?" Naruto asked, dragging a hand to a pouch tied around his waist. He slowly opened the pouch up and gripped a piece of paper before pulling it out, "You shouldn't say things like that when your opponent is still conscious and capable of fighting back, am I right?"

Itachi blinked, "You mean to say you've still got enough strength to fight back?"

The blond laughed, "Not entirely. I can still fight back though." Naruto inserted a small bit of chakra into the paper before tossing it into the air. Itachi's eyes widened a little as he recognized the design for a chakra triggered paper bomb.

"Hn, clever maneuver, Naruto-kun." Itachi commented as he jumped back. Naruto rolled behind the tree he was leaning against as the paper slip exploded with a flash of light. An explosive wave of heat and flames quickly engulfed the area as Itachi barely escaped the explosion. He landed on a nearby branch, eyes scanning the area. He looked to where Naruto had been, only to find a charred shell of bark and debris in his place. He had used a Kawarimi at the last second, it would appear.

Hopping back down to the now scorched earth of their battleground, Itachi looked for any signs of the blond. His eyes caught a flash of red on the grass.

A blood trail. He shook his head; Naruto should have been paying more attention to his wounds. He began following the blood trail when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to see Kisame walking into the clearing with the unconscious form of Gaara on the wrapped blade of Samehada, "Heh, the brat was tough, but I managed to beat him."

"I see." Itachi replied, "Our main target's managed to escape for a moment, but he has left a blood trail."

"Really?" Kisame grinned, "He's managed to give you trouble, Itachi? That's unusual for you to be having such a hard time." The shark-faced man looked around, "We never received word on the Kyuubi brat having any special powers, right?" He then thumbed to Gaara, "I mean, this guy was tough, sure, and he almost had me when he tried to crush the earth over me. Good thing I managed to turn myself into liquid at the last second with _Suiton_. He wasn't ready for that, heheh."

Itachi suddenly looked up, "Drop the Ichibi."

Kisame frowned, "What?"

"There are two powerful enemies approaching along with a Jounin ranked power level and a clone. Likely Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Sannin. We cannot travel to our base with the two Jinchuuriki and expect to put up a fight against them."

"_Sannin_?" Kisame repeated, "You mean that Jiraiya and Tsunade are heading this way?" He laughed, "You sure? I wouldn't mind trying to shave off a bit of their chakra for-"

"No. We're not able to fight them in our current situation. Besides, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is currently a good twenty meters north of us. By the time we reach him and secure him with the Ichibi, the two Sannin will-"

Just as Itachi was about to finish his sentence, several flashes of metal caught the eyes of the two nuke-nin. Hopping to the side, Itachi and Kisame looked up to see Jiraiya, Tsunade, and a brunette woman alongside a panting clone of Naruto.

Jiraiya met the gaze of Itachi, "Itachi Uchiha. I heard word that you've become a member of Akatsuki. Looks like I heard correctly."

Tsunade looked to see Gaara hanging on the wrapped blade of Kisame, then looked around the area before her gaze met with Itachi's. If looks could kill, Itachi would have been dead seven times over by now, "Where is Naruto?"

The Uchiha pointed ahead of where he had originally been facing, "He's no more than twenty meters that way, probably in that grouping of saplings over there." Itachi met her gaze without even flinching, "You have fairly good timing; we would have captured them if you were only three minutes later. I suppose Naruto-kun was smart to send out a clone to find you."

Tsunade and Itachi seemed to have a silent staring match for a whole thirty seconds before the elder kunoichi spoke, "Shizune, got tend to Naruto."

Shizune gave a nod, and quickly hopped down to the direction that Itachi had pointed. Sure enough, there was the blond she was looking for, taking in deep breaths. When he heard her land a few feet to the right of him, he pulled out a kunai and nearly threw it at her on sheer instinct. He stopped at the last second when he noticed who it was, "Sh-Shizune-neechan?"

Shizune gave a quick nod, "It's okay, Naruto. We're here now." She crouched beside the boy and began tending to his wounds with her healing chakra, "You did the right thing by sending a clone to find us. Gaara's been knocked out, but we managed to stop those two from getting away."

Naruto let out a sigh, "Good..." He looked over his shoulder a bit, trying to get a view of the clearing, "So I take it that Itachi's unharmed?"

"As far as I could tell. Why?"

"I used a C-class explosive tag on him." Naruto grumbled, "That thing cost me a little more than one thousand ryo."

Shizune shook her head, "Naruto, that's hardly something that you need to worry about when it comes to preserving your life."

"Yeah...but still!" Naruto griped.

Tsunade and Jiraiya, meanwhile, had jumped down from their perches on the tree branch, and stood no more than several yards away from the two rogue-nin, "So...are you two planning on making a run for it with Gaara?"

Kisame chuckled, "Luckily for you, Toad Sage, we decided to be smart." He tipped his sword to the side, letting the unconscious Ichibi Jinchuuriki fall onto the ground.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. She dashed forward, fist cocked back. Itachi and Kisame both knew well enough to stay as far away as possible from the blond kunoichi of the Sannin, hearing that her Taijutsu was not something to sneeze at.

"Jiraiya, get Gaara to Shizune!"

"What?!" Jiraiya exclaimed, "Like hell; you're not fighting those two alo-"

"Just do it, you idiot!!!" the blond roared, jumping into the air and missing Itachi by a mere second, sending up chunks of earth as her fist made contact with the ground.

"Kisame." Itachi spoke. Kisame simply gave a nod, and his cheeks puffed out a bit before he expelled an enormous amount of water. The area became covered with a good three feet, smashing into their pursuer and sending her off course for a few seconds. She managed to get her feet on top of the watery surface, but by the time she looked up, the two were gone.

"Damn it!" Tsunade growled, clenching her fist. She took in a deep breath and exhaled, remembering the reason why they were here in the first place. The water began seeping into the soil as she made her way over to the others. Shizune was finishing her treatment over Naruto, so Tsunade set to work on Gaara.

Jiraiya looked to his old teammate, "I told you not to attack them."

"Shut it." Tsunade spoke, her eyes focusing on the redhead before her, "...he seems to just be out cold from a blow to the head. Aside from that and some chakra depletion, he seems alright for the most part."

"Thank goodness." Jiraiya shook his head before looking to Naruto, "You two are lucky to have come out in the shape your in from that battle. Those two are some of the most dangerous shinobi in the world."

Naruto gave a laugh, and looked to his clone before giving it a nod. The clone dispelled in a puff of smoke, and closed his eyes, "I guess I can finally understand a bit of the reason why Sasuke's so distant..."

Tsunade gave the blond an inquiring look as she looked up from her work on Gaara, "What reason is that?"

Naruto shrugged, "His family was killed by his own brother. I don't know how anyone could live with that kind of experience and not be affected by it."

Tsunade gave a nod while Shizune frowned a bit. The three never noticed Jiraiya though, who was looking to the trees. A lone crow landed on a distant branch, flapping its wings and as it adjusted itself on its perch. Jiraiya simply gave a nod to the crow, and the coal black bird cawed once before opening its wings and flying off deeper into the woods.

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Gaara eventually opened his eyes after he was treated by Tsunade. He looked around, noting that he was back in the hotel room that they were staying at for the night. Images of a blue-skinned man invaded his memories, and suddenly he remembered what had happened. He attempted to sit up, but felt a firm hand on his shoulders, followed by the familiar voice of a certain hermit, "Easy there, Gaara. You're still recovering, though I have to admit that you're just about as good as Naruto at fast healing."

"Jiraiya-sensei?" Gaara spoke, blinking several times as midday light invaded his sight. He lifted a hand and saw the Sannin grinning a bit, "Where are those two rogue-nin?"

"Gone. Naruto managed to send out a Shadow Clone to find us, and we got here just in time to stop them from capturing the two of you and getting away."

"I see." Gaara replied, "Is Naruto alright?"

"He'll survive. Minor bodily injury, some second degree burns....though he's managed to heal up fine for the most part." Jiraiya answered, "You two are lucky to be alive right now, you know that?"

"I'm aware of that. It's not like we went looking for the two; they found us."

The Sannin frowned upon hearing that, "That's what I thought..." He placed a hand under his chin as he looked towards the window, "Looks like I'll have to have a talk with you and Naruto about that organization a little sooner than I had hoped..."

"Organization? You mean there's more of them?"

"So my sources tell me." Jiraiya answered, "I have no definite number right now, but there have been six to eight shinobi that I've been told are part of that organization, but I'm positive there's more."

"What do they want with us?"

The Sannin's face seemed to become more grave as he turned back to his student, "Your bijuu."

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"Hey, one more round for the six of us over here! I'm buying!"

The bartender chuckled, "Ladies, while I appreciate your business, I think you're all close to your limit."

Ino waved a hand, "Please, we're adults! We can han'le a little sake!"

Hinata, who was leaning against Ino a bit, mumbled quietly, "A-actually Ino...you've only been having amazake tonight, and that stuff is low in alcohol compared to what Tayuya and Temari are having." She giggled as Ino gave her a light nudge.

The bartender shook his head; in all the seventeen years since he retired from active duty as a Konoha shinobi, he never once thought he'd see a Suna kunoichi, or Hyuuga heiress, let alone six greenhorn kunoichi, all at his little bar. Though, the girl in the pink shirt and who wore her hair in two tight buns claimed she was had a full year under her belt.

"I also have the best hit to miss ratio in Konoha's Academy records for projectile throwing," Tenten boasted while stirring a small cup of a mix drink, "It was...um..." She scratched her head, "Hey, Sakura, you know these things; what was my record?"

Sakura looked off in thought for a moment before speaking, "Ninety-eight hits and two misses."

Tenten slammed her hand on the counter, "Ha! See, Temari! Beat that! What do you have against that?" She grinned while Temari merely shook her head.

The Suna kunoichi had decided to be the responsible one of the group tonight and had only one cup of sake. She was now enjoying a free fruit juice—courtesy of the bartender for taking the girls under her wing for the evening—while enjoying the antics of her friends. They had just survived an invasion, strengthened the ties between two shinobi nations, and were on their way towards war with one of the most powerful shinobi villages; they needed this.

Tayuya laughed a little, "Well, Temari holds the record for having the first man under her thumb out of this group."

Hinata giggled a little more while Tenten stuck her tongue out at Tayuya. Ino snorted a little, "Bah, Naruto's probably a real submissive guy when you get through the loud voice and huge grin, right?" She waggled her eyebrows at Temari while the older blond just chuckled.

"Don't plan on finding out anytime soon, Ino. He's mine."

"He's tha' good, huh?" Ino joked. Temari, much to her embarrassment, blushed a bit while trying not to smile too much.

"I think that's a 'Yes'." Sakura whispered loudly, earning another chorus of giggles from the group, Temari included.

The group laughed as they finished the last of their drinks. Ino, as she had stated, laid down a decent pile of coins for payment. She grinned at the bartender, "Keep the change."

"Much obliged, miss." the bartender chuckled, shaking his head. As Temari got up with the group, he spoke in a hushed tone, "Make sure they all get home, alright?"

Temari nodded, "I will."

Despite the fact that they had left the bar, Temari noted that the night was still rather young. Tayuya, unfortunately, did as well, "Hey, it's only nine!"

Ino, not one to be outdone as the life of the party, let out a loud whoop, "A'right! Let's go to the dance clubs!"

Temari sighed, "Ino, we're not-"

"Oh, that'sa great idea!" Tenten agreed, wrapping her arm around the platinum blond, "Hey, maybe we'll see the guys on the way there!"

Sakura laughed as she walked alongside Hinata, who was still giggling while trying to maintain her balance, "Psst, Hinata."

The Hyuuga heir rested her head on the crook of Sakura's neck, "Heheh...wh-what, Sakura-sa-?"

"If we see Kiba, you should ask him on a date."

Hinata's laughter died down for a moment as she processed the proposition from Sakura, then gasped, "O-oh, n-no! I couldn't do that. I-it'd be too embarrassing for-"

Tayuya slung her arm on the other side of Hinata, "Yeah, and then we'll teach you how to give him tongue!"

Hinata blushed a deep red, "W-what?!"

Tenten snickered a little, "I think she could get Kiba easily with that cute expression of hers."

Ino looked over her shoulder to Temari, who was trailing behind so she could keep an eye on the girls, "Hey, Temari...didja know that Naruto's teacher...um...Jiraiya, right, Sakura?"

"Yeah, Jiraiya of the Sannin."

"Right." Ino nodded slowly and deliberately, "Well...I heard tha' he's the one who wrote all those smut novels that Kakashi-sensei's always reading."

"Tch, mask'd pervert." Tayuya chortled while the other girls suppressed their laughter.

Temari decided to humor her fellow blond kunoichi, "What's that got to do with anything?"

Ino waved a hand to the older kunoichi, signaling her to come closer. Temari smiled a bit while rolling her eyes and walked closer. Ino spoke loudly, though she probably thought she was whispering, "I bet Naruto's going to learn all sorts of dirty things from Jiraiya."

"Ugh, he would!" Sakura exclaimed, "He's a guy!"

Hinata prodded her fingers together while looking down, "Well...um..." She faltered with her words for a few moments before continuing, "I'm...reading one of the books."

The group all stopped and Ino and Tenten walked in front of Hinata while Temari raised an eyebrow, "No way! Hinata, you read Icha Icha?!"

"Shhh!" Hinata hushed, surprising the girls a bit, "I-I'm borrowing it from Kurenai-sensei!" Her pale eyes widened as she clapped a hand over her mouth, "I-I mean that-"

"Whoa...Kurenai-sensei's a pervert, too?" Ino asked to no one in particular, "Huh.."

"Th-the books aren't that bad...w-well, aside from the...well...the..."

Tenten grinned, "The smut?"

"Y-yes." Hinata nodded, "They're actually written well..."

"Are the sex scenes hot?" Tayuya asked, leaning close to Hinata as the Hyuuga began to stutter quietly, edging closer to Sakura, who took pity on her and pretended to shield her from the other girls.

"Okay, stop teasing Hinata-chan..." Sakura laughed, wrapping her arms around the poor Hyuuga, "So she reads adult literature, big deal."

Temari took advantage of the distraction, and began to walk again, the girls instinctively following, "I don't know; I think maybe I'll buy one of the books tomorrow myself. Hinata seems like the kind of girl who knows good reading material when she sees it."

Ino chuckled, "That way you'll have ideas of wha' to do to poor Naruto-kun."

The girls continued on their way home, Temari managing to convince Ino that dancing was not a 'really awesome idea' as they did so. That's when the Suna kunoichi overheard it...

"Hey, we just go word from a messenger hawk flying in from the north. Apparently Jiraiya-sama and his two students found our new Hokage."

Temari, as well as the other girls, all stopped. The signs of inebriation became less relevant on their features as their instincts kicked in. Temari would have applauded them on keeping their senses tuned if she weren't more interested in the conversation between the two Chuunin walking down the street from the Hokage Tower, which they were currently passing by.

"Yeah, I heard. Apparently they were ambushed or something, right?"

A laugh, "You're not going to believe who it was, Kotetsu."

A Chuunin with a bandage over his nose raised an eyebrow, "Go on..."

The other Chuunin, who's hair was blocking a portion of his face, continued, "Itachi Uchiha."

"...Izumo, that's not funny."

Izumo, or so Temari heard, shook his head, "I'm not joking. What's most surprising though is that apparently that Naruto kid took him on. By _himself_."

"Son of a..." Kotetsu let out a low whistle, "The kid's either got luck on his side or he's more skilled than he appeared during the invasion."

"Well, whatever the case, he and that Gaara from Suna were ambushed by Itachi and...say, weren't those two supposedly in Konoha a little while back?"

Kotetsu nodded, "Yeah...yeah, you're right. Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai all took them on, then Gai arrived and Itachi and his partner left. I heard that Itachi's working with Kisame Hoshikgaki of the Hidden Mist..."

"I heard so too." Izumo grunted, "Apparently Kakashi-senpai recovered rather quickly from whatever Itachi attacked him with. He said that he thinks Itachi was holding back when he attacked him with his Genjutsu."

The two continued down the road, their conversation becoming indistinguishable by their distance. Temari felt her hands tightening and she turned to the others, all of them sending her mixed looks from worry to confusion. Meanwhile, Sakura was barely able to suppress the worry and panic she was feeling. She managed to look concerned as she looked at Temari, but her heart beat was now going a mile a minute. She glanced over to her side, and saw Tayuya. The older kunoichi shared a worried look with the rosette before they returned their attention to Temari and the others.

"Somethin' happened to Naruto and Gaara?" Ino asked, once again being the first to voice her thoughts.

Temari frowned, "I guess so. He just got in a fight with Orochimaru a short while back, didn't he?"

"Well...a-at least Jiraiya-sama is with them, right?" Hinata added, the group nodding in agreement.

"Damn. Even _I've_ heard of Itachi Uchiha. I heard he's a master in the art of Genjutsu and _Katon_." Tayuya commented, "You know, for a couple of shinobi, they're sure loose-lipped..."

"Izumo and Kotetsu...they work at the guard gate a lot, and sometimes do errands for the Hokage. They gossip like two old women." Tenten commented, "So...Naruto and Gaara are okay, right?"

Temari rubbed her right arm, "I think so. They didn't say anything about Naruto or Gaara being really badly hurt..."

"They're both really strong." Sakura stated firmly, "I know they're okay, Temari. Besides, those two are a dangerous combination together, remember?"

"But...they said Naruto fought Itachi Uchiha by _himself_." Temari stated, her voice laced with worry, "I...I heard that the Uchiha know some of the most powerful fire jutsu and well, Naruto uses _Fuuton_ so he'd-"

"Temari." Sakura spoke, "He's fine. Trust me."

Temari looked to the others, all of them nodding a little. She sighed, "You're right. I must appear pathetic, worrying like some helpless damsel waiting for her man to return home from war."

Tayuya snorted, "Yeah, you do. It's okay though, we won't tell."

Temari gave Tayuya a flat look while the other girls laughed a bit, "Alright, come on, let's go. Hinata, by the way, what excuse did you give your father for being out so late?"

"Um...well..." Hinata began pressing her fingers together, "That is...I..."

Tenten, knowing Hinata a little better than the others, began to worry, "Hinata...you _did_ have a plan for all of this, right?"

"N-no." Hinata stated, "I-I simply told my father that I'd be out later, practicing with Sakura-san and Tayuya-san on my katas and form for Taijutsu."

Tenten was quiet for a moment before sighing, "I better go with you. If I know your family well enough, Neji's probably pulling hairs right now while your father's worrying himself sick."

"Well, Tou-san doesn't really worry about-"

Tenten waved a hand, "I understand, Hinata-chan. Though, I assure you that Neji worries about you. He talks about how you're becoming more 'rebellious' these past few weeks."

Ino giggled, "Hinata? Rebellious? Oh, this I have got to hear. What is he accusing her of doing? Sleeping in?"

"Worse." Tenten replied with a chuckle, "He says she's flirting with that 'Inuzuka boy'."

Hinata felt the eyes of her friends falling upon her, and all she could do was look down while blushing, "I...I don't know what he's talking about. N-Neji-niisan must be over exaggerating things."

Ino was up in the young Hyuuga's face, grinning, "Hinata, come on! Spill the beans! We all thought you were too scared to get close to Kiba!"

"I...we're just close friends, Ino. Nothing is going on between us." Hinata spoke, looking everywhere but up at the blond.

"There's your problem!" Ino stated, "Ya gotta ask him out!" She poked the Hyuuga in the chest with a finger, "You've got the figure to get his attention, for crying out loud!"

Sakura sighed, "Ino..."

Temari clapped her hands, "Alright, for the second time, enough with teasing Hinata. She's probably one of the more mature ones of our group anyway." Ino was about to open her mouth when Temari continued, "I mean that she's more mature in acting proper and being polite, Ino, not physically speaking."

Ino laughed, "Fine." She gave Hinata a gentle nudge with her elbow, "We only tease you because we love you, Hinata-chan."

The Hyuuga blushed a bit, "I know."

The group continued on down the road. All the while, Temari couldn't help but think back to her boyfriend and kid brother and the supposed attack they had supposedly been through.

She just hoped that they both got back soon.

2020202020

It was close to midnight when Sasuke finally took a rest from training.

He had recently heard from Kakashi himself that Itachi had stopped in the village, apparently looking for someone. He didn't say it outright, but Sasuke got the feeling that his rogue-nin brother had been looking for Naruto."

Naruto...

The blond had made a bit of a name for himself among the rookie shinobi of Konohagakure for his supposed battle with the Snake Sannin. He had also apparently attracted his older brother's attention for reasons not yet known to him. Why? Why would that bastard of a murderer want anything to do with Naruto? Was it because of...

"...it's possible." Sasuke stated to himself, "Why though? If it's because of the fox..." Sasuke stood up, "I'll just have to ask Kakashi tomorrow if he can tell me anything else."

Sasuke, however, wasn't aware of the news that Naruto had recently fought his older brother. He wasn't aware He would catch word of it eventually, though. It wouldn't settle well with him, either.

2020202020

Jiraiya sat outside on the balcony of his hotel room, smoking a pipe while replaying the events that had occurred over the course of the day. He had been, for the most part, surprised to see Akatsuki show its face so soon. He had just gotten word recently about the organization's existence, probably a little more than a month ago to be precise.

Now they were beginning to show themselves. He knew they were after the Jinchuuriki, yet he didn't know why yet. The theories were many, but the facts were few. For a spy master like Jiraiya, that was a problem.

_Caw!!_

Jiraiya looked up to see a piece of paper fluttering down onto his lap. He looked up, but saw nothing. The faint echo of crowing could be heard, but he wasn't concerned about that. Picking up the paper, he unfolded it and sighed.

_Decent at best. Need of practice in all fields. Impressive resilience from both._

Well, that was better than he had expected. With a snap of his fingers, a light spark of fire caused the paper note to burn. The ashes floated into the night sky, blowing away in the calm breeze.

"Well, once we get back to Konoha, I'll have to start getting serious about their training." the Toad Sage thought aloud. Putting out his pipe and tapping the ashes off the side of the balcony, he got up and headed to his room.

He'd need all the sleep he could get. Tomorrow they'd be making the homestretch back to Hidden Leaf.

**End of Chapter Twenty: Yeah, Naruto got beat by Itachi. If any of you had expected for our young Chuunin to win that fight...well...sorry? I mean, Naruto is strong, no doubt, but...this is Itachi we're talking about. **

** Well, we're finally coming to a close in the Search for Tsunade/Completion of Rasengan Training Arc. I may have dragged it on a bit longer than I wanted, but I'm done with it finally, heheh. Thanks for reading, as always!**

**As always, I'd like to thank Paradox Jast for helping with the cleaning up of this chapter, and helping with some suggestions. Thanks, Jast!**


	21. Enter Godaime Hokage

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. However, if Naruto were under the ownership of me, I would have Jiraiya finally get the attention he so rightfully deserved from Tsunade. Why? Because he's awesome. That's why.**

**Chapter 21: Enter Godaime Hokage**

Kakashi was one of the first people to receive the message that Jiraiya, Gaara, and Naruto were planning on making it back to Konoha by later afternoon today. As such, Kakashi had deemed it appropriate to give Sakura, Sasuke, and his newest student, Tayuya, the day off.

Tayuya, however, didn't leave the training ground that morning. She simply sat on the log post and looked up to the sky, deep in thought. Kakashi had been tempted to ask her if something was wrong, but decided it was none of his business.

The last thing he needed was to give advice to a teenage kunoichi. He had enough trouble taking his own advice half the time.

Still, while his thoughts were on the topic of Tayuya, he couldn't help but think back to yesterday evening. He had seen something that unnerved him a bit.

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_"Kakashi, what exactly happened to Naruto the other day that's caused his name to be tossed around so much?" Sasuke asked._

_ The Jounin cursed under his breath; word was bound to reach the young Chuunin sooner or later. He noticed Sakura and Tayuya share a concerned look before turning to Sasuke as well. Kakashi scratched his head, "Well, to be honest-"_

_ "I just want to know. I've heard rumors...I just want to know how true they are. That's all I ask."_

_ "...first off," Kakashi began, "The rumors of Naruto fighting your brother are true, Sasuke. Second of all, yes, Naruto did manage to hold his own against a shinobi that was in an entirely different league than him. However," Kakashi continued, seeing Sasuke preparing to interrupt, "Naruto would have likely been defeated for certain had Jiraiya-sama and the future Godaime, Tsunade of the Sannin, not arrived when they did. Both Naruto and Gaara were down for the count, from what I was told."_

_ "...so Naruto's gotten stronger, huh?" Sasuke sighed, "That idiot's still way ahead of me."_

_ "Not necessarily, Sasuke. You have strengths over Naruto, remember. You have a high level of understanding in the field of Katon, and from what I last heard, you're one of the better tacticians of your class."_

_ "Next to Shikamaru and Sakura," the Uchiha added._

_ "Sasuke..." Sakura began._

_ "Look, I just wanted an answer to the question, alright? That's all." Sasuke began, "I'm heading home. I'll see you all later."_

_ Sakura frowned as the Uchiha headed off, "Damn it, if he goes back to his old sulking self, so help me..."_

_ "Take it easy, Sakura. He just found out that his older brother's decided to appear to the shinobi world. Not only that, but he attacked one of his good friends as well." Kakashi spoke, putting a hand on the young kunoichi's shoulder, "Try to put yourself in his shoes for a moment."_

_ Sakura's shoulders drooped a bit as she thought about what her sensei had said. She had been informed on Sasuke's family history just earlier that day by Sasuke himself, and had come to understand him a bit more from it. She knew a little about the Uchiha clan's tragic past, but only from gossip and hearsay._

_ "I may not have much of an understanding of this predicament as you two, but I think Sasuke's made a one-eighty in his attitude since word of the search for the Godaime got to Konoha." Tayuya commented, "I for one don't want to deal with him being a dark cloud all the time. It gets annoying."_

_ "Now now, Tayuya-chan. That's no way to treat your fellow teammates." Kakashi chastised lightly, "For the record, Sasuke's made a vast improvement in his attitude since Team Seven first formed. Sakura can vouch for that claim, as well as Naruto."_

_ Tayuya rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well, what should we do about it? I'm no psychologist, and I don't have any degree in child therapy."_

_ "Just give Sasuke some space, that's all for now. If he starts showing problems, we'll take further measures to help him out."_

_ "I noticed him rubbing his neck," Tayuya noted, "That mark was appearing again."_

_ Kakashi paused before looking at Tayuya with a even gaze, "Mark?"_

_ Tayuya opened her mouth to speak, then realized her slip. She kept her expression from being too revealing to the Jounin, "Y-yeah, I saw it on his neck."_

_ That shouldn't have been the case. Kakashi was told by Jiraiya that part of the sealing process on Orochimaru's Curse Mark was that it made the mark invisible to the naked eye. So, either Sasuke's will was wavering in resisting it...or..._

_ "Well, that wraps up our meeting for the day. I'll see you two tomorrow." _

_ Sakura bid the two farewell, stating she had to meet with her mother for lunch. Kakashi lingered a bit, and noticed that the second kunoichi on his team had stayed behind._

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Now Kakashi was watching the kunoichi from a tree branch, not hiding himself too much so that she wouldn't grow suspicious if she did notice him. He had pegged her from the start as a rather perceptive and experienced ninja, considering her age. He knew very little about her other than she had a rough life growing up in Kirigakure during the kekkai genkai purging, and that she was not easily deterred from any challenge set before her. Aside from that, she seemed to be a rather hardy character, and was well accustomed to hard work. He also sensed a bond between her and Sakura, which was good news in his book. Tayuya seemed to take on the roll of an older sister to Sakura, offering her pointers in her Taijutsu. Not to mention the girl had a decent rapport in Genjutsu, a field of shinobi arts that Sakura expressed an interest in.

Still, the fact remained that she had known about the Curse Mark of Sasuke's, which he had thought to be a rather tight-lipped secret. Not even Sasuke talked about it, and Sakura wasn't allowed to speak of it to anyone besides the Uchiha, Kakashi himself, or the Hokage.

So...how had Tayuya found out?

"Tayuya, you can go home, you know." Kakashi said, his eye smile present as he approached the kunoichi, "I gave you the day off."

Tayuya frowned a little, and couldn't meet the Jounin's eyes, "I-I'm fine, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi's smile returned to it's usual unreadable masked look, "You sure? You look a bit bothered. Something wrong?"

"Like I said, I'm fine." Tayuya repeated, "I just want to get some training in for the day. That's all."

Kakashi remained quiet for a moment, watching Tayuya as she began to stretch her arms a bit, "I'm glad you take your training so seriously, Tayuya." He smiled, "You're one of the most dedicated kunoichi I've seen in your age group for quite a few years."

"Um...thanks, but I'm just trying to keep my skills sharp." Tayuya replied humbly, "Besides, never know when you're going to be a jerk and throw the infamous 'Konohagakure Marathon Run' on us again." She frowned as he chuckled, "There's _nothing_ funny about running around the village thirty times at seven o' clock in the morning, damn it!"

The Jounin shrugged, "Hey, you three are more than capable of taking that course...anyway, Tayuya, as I was saying...if there's something bothering you, and I can tell something is, feel free to talk to me, Sakura, or Sasuke. We're a team..." He placed a hand on her brown hair, "..and we help each other. Right?"

"R-right." Tayuya spoke quietly, "Thanks...sensei."

"Don't mention it. I'm glad to have you as a student. Don't forget that." With that, Kakashi headed down the road from training ground seven towards his flat. He stopped for a moment to see Tayuya was facing towards the three log posts that were sticking out of the ground, appearing as though she was mulling over something.

If he was right about her, she'd eventually come to him. He had a few ideas on what her problem was...and hoped that he wasn't completely right about them. Tayuya seemed to be a smart, over all good-hearted person. Still, the way she had been acting moments ago seemed a bit off for her.

He'd find out eventually, to be sure.

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"Tsunade...I'd be lying if I was to say I didn't miss you." Sarutobi spoke as he removed his pipe from his lips, "Jiraiya has informed me that you've been on the move from your mountain of debts for quite some time now."

The blond haired beauty rolled her eyes, grumbling insults about the Toad Sage under her breath, "Yeah, you could say that." She couldn't help but grin as she faced her old teacher from decades ago, despite how much she attempted to appear indifferent, "I've missed you too, Sarutobi-sensei."

Hiruzen let out a heartfelt chortle as he emptied his pipe into the tray on his desk, "Really? You make an old man glad to hear that, Tsunade. I see you've managed to keep your practice in illusion strong, judging by your appearance."

"That's...nothing you need to worry about, sensei." Tsunade spoke carefully.

"So it would seem. Bah, listen to me ramble on like this. Let's get down to business, shall we?" Sarutobi removed his hat for a moment, and for the first time since she had entered the office, Tsunade could see the age appearing on the Sandaime's face, "Tsunade, I'm much too old for my title. I nearly died against Orochimaru whom I probably could have defeated if I were only twenty years younger. I'm starting to find it hard to keep track of all the things that need to be done, if if not for my secretary, bless her soul, I'd be forgetting important meetings with clients like the Fire Lord."

Tsunade decided to save the elderly shinobi from going on a long-winded speech, "Sarutobi-sensei, I'm ready to take up the title of Godaime Hokage."

The elderly man blinked before cracking a smile on his face once more, "I should have guessed that you were." He stood up as he replaced his hat upon his balding head. Looking out the window to the Hokage Faces, he sighed, "Tsunade, I won't lie to you; you're taking up the position of Hokage during a time that would be horrible for someone who has never had much experience in leading people, considering the Fourth Shinobi War is just over the horizon for us. You've lead platoons before, I know that, but this is an entire village." He turned back to her, his gaze surprisingly sharp, "Are you certain you can handle this responsibility?"

"Yes, sensei. Besides, if I don't take the position, that crazy little gaki might, then we're all doomed." Tsunade answered.

Sarutobi openly laughed at that, "Yes, Naruto-kun seemed to be rather happy that you decided to take up the position, though he claimed you, and I quote, 'aren't as cool the old man'."

"Little runt..." Tsunade muttered under her breath, "Remind me to send him on a long term D-rank mission when I get the chance." She laughed as Sarutobi seemed to give her a knowing grin, "Eh, who am I kidding? Naruto and Gaara both helped me realize what I've been doing for all these years was simply running from my problems."

"Ah, yes, Gaara. That boy is perceptive as well...I'm sure you're aware of his predicament as well, correct?"

The to-be Godaime gave a nod, "Yes. Those two are both doing well for themselves, considering the burden they carry."

"They're like brothers, in a way." Sarutobi added as he began to rise from his seat, "Gaara's the opposite of Naruto in a lot of ways, but they get along so well, from the little I've seen of the two when they're both before me."

"Yeah, that and Jiraiya's seemed to taken quiet a liking in the two as well." Tsunade smiled, "He looks like he used to when he was teaching Minato..."

"Well, I suppose that's only natural. The two are eager to learn, and absorb anything you teach them like a sponge." Sarutobi stared at the picture of Minato on the wall and sighed a bit, "He seemed happy to get a chance to see his son, even if it was during the middle of an invasion on his home."

"That's right," Tsunade began, "Jiraiya told me Minato was brought back by Orochimaru. How is that possible, considering the circumstances with Naruto's seal-"

"I have no clue, Tsunade, and Jiraiya was just as baffled." Sarutobi replied with a shake of his head, "We can spend more time discussing that later, however. Right now I need to have you meet with the council and go through the proper papers and such to make your title as Hokage official."

The blond seemed to go a bit pale upon hearing this news, "The council?" She groaned, "Damn, I knew that I was forgetting something."

"Haha! Welcome back, Tsunade." Sarutobi laughed as he guided her out of the office to her awaiting council.

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Naruto and Gaara were walking down the main road of Konoha, all the while the villagers were giving them some space to move through. They would have believed it was because Jiraiya, the legendary Toad Sage, was with them as well, but almost all the looks were directed at the two Chuunin.

The best part, however, was that the looks they were getting were almost all of respect.

"...that's Naruto, isn't it? The boy with the Jinchuu-"

"Yeah, I heard that he used it to fight Orochimaru."

"That's amazing."

"No way the Kyuubi would be that honorable...I was wrong about that boy."

"...that other boy's Gaara no Sabaku, isn't it? From Suna?"

"...he's really strong...Jiraiya-sama's teaching both of them, if I remember..."

Jiraiya cracked a small smirk of his own, "Well, boys. Mission accomplished!" He patted both of them on the shoulder and handed them each a slip of paper; a check with at least four zeros on it, "I need to meet up with Tsunade and the old man and get them up to date on a few things. Take the date off. If I'm right, in another day or so the Hokage's inauguration ceremony will be held."

"Cool!" Naruto stated with a grin, "I'll be sure to bring some water balloons and-"

"Naruto, I think that would be unwise. You know how Tsunade-san gets."

"...true. Scratch that idea." Naruto murmured after a moment of thought.

"Gaara? Naruto?"

Both boys looked up at the sound of their names being called. Just a little ways down the road was Temari and Kankuro, along with Baki.

"Temari-chan! Hey, we're back-oof!"

Naruto was wrapped in a hug almost immediately by the kunoichi, "I heard so many things while you were gone. I was worried that you'd be a lot worse than you are..."

Naruto just smirked while returning the hug, "Bah, I'm alright, Temari."

Temari let go shortly after and smiled, "I see that..." She sighed with the smile still on her face, "I'll talk to you later about all that." She grinned, "Welcome back." Turning to Gaara, she walked up and wrapped her arms around the red head, "Gaara, good to see you're alive as well..."

Gaara was stiff for a moment before he hesitantly put an arm around his elder sister, "Thank you, Nee-san."

Kankuro approached the boys, and gave both of them a pat on the shoulders, "Heard you guys got into a few fights." He smirked as Naruto grinned, "I want the details later, alright?"

Baki rolled his eyes, "Kankuro, don't encourage them like that. They're both lucky to be in the shape they are after fighting both Orochimaru _and_ Itachi Uchiha along with Kisame Hoshigaki." The Suna Jounin turned to Jiraiya, "So...is it true what's been said about this 'Akatsuki' group?"

"For the most part, we have very little on them right now, but..." He looked to Naruto and Gaara for a moment, "What do we have on them seems to be accurate."

Baki gave a nod, "I'll inform Suna as soon as possible, in that case." He began towards the Hokage Tower, "I have a meeting with the future Hokage today, so I should be on my way. Temari, we'll continue training tomorrow morning, alright?"

"Right, sensei." Temari said with a quick nod. Baki then continued down the road.

"Well, I'm actually heading to the Hokage Tower as well. I'll see you kids later." Jiraiya gave a wave before disappearing with a quick Shunshin.

Temari turned back to Naruto, and gave a smirk, "Looks like you've been training hard since you left."

"Heheh, you could say that. How can you tell?"

"The way you're carrying yourself. I can just tell you've changed." There was a glint in her eyes that made even Gaara feel slightly uneasy, "How about we spar?"

Naruto knew that refusing would be a foolish idea.

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"So, it is decided then." Sarutobi spoke as he looked across the table to where Tsunade was standing, "Tsunade, I hereby declare you the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure. May you continue to guide our village with a sharp mind and strong heart."

Tsunade gave a bow to the Sandaime and the council members. She was relieved to see that so many of them were people she knew to be open-minded individuals; Shikaku Nara, Chouza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka were a few she could place her trust in. Hiashi Hyuuga was one she was a bit uncertain of, but he was a loyal shinobi of Konoha. Most of the clan heads were visibly supportive of her as the new Hokage, which she was glad to see.

Homura, Koharu, and Danzo were of course, skeptical of her as the new Hokage, namely Danzo, but she expected as much. The three elders, along with the Sandaime, had seen two great wars and lived through them. Now another one was starting. They had a right to be that way.

It didn't mean she liked it, though.

"Tsunade, we hope you'll lead this village well in our time of need." spoke Koharu as she along with the other council members stood up.

"We will do our part to give you our counsel as well." added Homura, who gave Tsunade a quick bow, as well as the others.

Tsunade saw her cue to speak, "Thank you, council members. I take this position with a humble heart and much honor. I will see to it that Konoha and her allies make it through these difficult times and remain strong."

Meanwhile, Jiraiya sat outside the window, listening with a smile on his face, _"She sure has a silver tongue when she needs it, heheh." _He looked to the Hokage Faces and grinned, "I wonder if there's a way for me to get her real face on the mountainside."

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Naruto jumped a few feet to the right as a blast of wind smashed into the ground, sending up a plume of dust into the air. The blond pulled out a kunai and chucked it towards the direction of his adversary, and heard the satisfying clanging sound of metal on metal. Now that he had her location through the dust, he dashed forward, "Got you!"

Temari was a bit bewildered to have Naruto charging her head on. She raised her fan so the metallic side was in front of her, and blocked a punch before putting some space between them. She ran through a few seals and three Bunshin came into existence. The three doppelgangers and their creator dashed towards Naruto.

Naruto didn't have enough time to try and peg the sound of the real Temari's feet hitting the ground, so he placed both his hands out on either side and began to spin, "_Fuuton: Odori no Senkaze no Jutsu_!"

Temari was blown back while her three illusions disappeared within the spinning vortex Naruto had conjured. Taking her fan out, she began to channel chakra throughout the folded portion, "Hmph, thinks he can just hide in there, does he?" She whipped open her fan to it's full length, "Try this, Naruto! _Fuuton: Ibuki no Tatsu_!"

Whipping her fan, a stream of blue colored wind blasted forth. The high speed wind collided with Naruto's vortex. Folding her fan up, Temari made a few hand seals, and the wind began to rise up above Naruto's maelstrom, and encircled the whiskered blond, "Ochiru!"

The sapphire wind descended upon Naruto's vortex and within seconds the boy's jutsu fell apart. The sound of Naruto yelling in surprise could be heard, and a figure of tan, green, and yellow could be seen being thrashed about in the violent winds of Temari's wind jutsu.

"Agaru!"

Naruto was suddenly lifted up into the air by the winds, and a moment later he was sent flying into the air, Temari having canceled her technique. Naruto opened an eye in time to see Temari jumping towards him. He forced himself to block her kick with his own leg, and pushed off her before landing on the tree top, "Ungh...that was a new one. When did you learn that jutsu?"

Temari winked, "One of the shinobi's best weapons is the ability to improve." She got into her stance, "I studied a few B-rank Fuuton scrolls while you were gone. They proved to be as good as I hoped, it seems."

Naruto rotated his shoulder a bit, "You caught me off guard with that maneuver of yours. I wasn't expecting wind to be able to be controlled like that."

Temari smirked, "That's what you get for not being prepared against me, Naruto. While you're able to use stronger Fuuton techniques, I _have_ had more experience in using them." She folded her hands into a seal and concentrated chakra into her feet. Naruto's eyes widened in astonishment as she grinned, "Again...I have more experience. I remembered seeing you do this, so it wasn't hard to figure out."

Naruto barely had time to react as Temari literally flew at him, her feet a few centimeters from the ground. He pushed her back and attempted to kick her in the sternum. She caught the foot with her arms, but was not ready for Naruto to spin his other foot around and catch her on the side. She flew a few feet, skidding as she dragged her hands through the dirt to catch herself as she continued floating.

"Yeesh, Temari! Warn me before you go and speed at me like that, haha!" Naruto did the same as her, and the two were now hovering off the ground, "Ready?"

"Do you have to ask?" Temari answered with a grin.

"Fair enough." Naruto got into his stance, "Here I come!"

The two dashed at each other once more, both grinning like it was going out of style, caught up in the rush of a good spar with the person they loved.

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Two days had come, and as expected, the village populous had amassed around the Hokage Tower as Tsunade stood before them, hat on her head as she looked over her people. She grinned a bit as she was able to see Naruto and Gaara among the hundreds of people. The two were standing on one of the taller trees, one waving to her rapidly while the other simply gave her a nod.

"People of Konoha, shinobi and civilians alike. I stand before you today as your new leader, the Godaime Hokage. Some of you may be concerned with this sudden change in leadership with the approaching war ahead of us, but I assure you that I will see to it that we remain strong in this time of strife!" There were applause, but she held up her hands to signal the need for silence so she could continue, "I will see to it that we continue to keep our strong ties with Suna, as well as our other allies..." She paused, "From this day forth, I dedicate my life to this village as your Hokage!"

The crowds erupted once more into cheers, and the place literally shook from them celebration. Tsunade laughed as she watched young 'Rookie Nine' and a Genin team belonging to Gai gathered around Naruto and Gaara and began to talk animatedly while pointing to Tsunade. The two boys were likely explaining the details of their search for her to them.

The 'Konoha Twelve' and the sibling from Suna had stood out immediately in Tsunade's book. She had a brief hour to herself earlier today, and decided to go over the folders of Naruto. One of the most recent bits of information was his involvement with the small group of young shinobi in the attempted invasion of Konoha over a month ago.

She made a mental note to keep an eye on those twelve kids; they'd likely be making big names for themselves in the years to come.

"That was a really quick inauguration speech." Jiraiya commented, leaning against the wall behind Tsunade, "It was clear and made your point though. Not bad so far."

Tsunade smirked as she tipped her hat up, "You think so?"

Shizune, who was by Jiraiya's side, gave a nod, "I think you're arrival to Konoha has helped brighten the situation for Konoha, Tsunade-sama."

The new Godaime grinned a bit, while settling her hat so it covered her eyes a little, "Good."

"I've got to admit, Tsunade-hime, you look good in that hat, heheh." Jiraiya halfheartedly joked. Tsunade just rolled her eyes while keeping the small smile on her face while Jiraiya continued, "Dan and Nawaki would be proud of what you've done."

The Godaime nodded, "Thanks, Jiraiya."

The masses continued to cheer for Tsunade as she waved to her people. Meanwhile, Sarutobi watched from behind while smiling to himself. He was happy to see his once wayward student return to her home not only as a citizen but also as its new leader. She seemed to have a bit of that old fire that burned in her eyes when she was younger returning to her once more.

For once in almost sixteen years, Sarutobi felt himself relax, knowing that he was able to once step down from the position of Hokage and allow the younger generations to take over.

2121212121

About a week had passed for Konoha since Tsunade was made the new leader. In that time, the Konoha Twelve and the sand siblings had taken up several tasks of varying degrees: cleaning the training grounds, sending information and supplies to the different outposts throughout Fire Country, even night patrols within Konoha Forest.

Naruto, being a ninja with dual shinobi registration, had been working within and away from the village, and as such had been rather busy for the whole of the week. By the weekend, Naruto had taken on one B-rank mission that involved escorting mercenary wagons from Konoha to the borders of River Country. He had gone with a platoon made up of two ANBU teams, three Jounin teams, two Chuunin teams, and a two year Genin team. Temari, Tenten, Kiba, Hinata, and Sasuke had tagged along as well with Kakashi, Kurenai, and Baki leading them.

When they reached their destination, they were standing outside a small town right by the two countries' borders. There they met with about thirty Suna-nin of varying rank that were to accompany Kakashi, Kurenai, and Baki's teams back to Konoha while the Konoha platoon remained continued onward to Wind Country, and then to Sunagakure.

The trip back to Konoha would be about three days' travel for the group. They had hunkered down in a small clearing within a thicket just east of the border of River Country. A small fire was going while the group ate quietly, the murmur of faint conversation going on between the shinobi.

"I still don't see why you can't teach me some of those techniques, Baki-sensei." Naruto grumbled as he bit into a piece of venison from a deer they had hunted earlier that day, "I mean, I can use Fuuton just like Temari-chan-"

"Naruto, Temari has the adequate amount of chakra control in order to execute the advanced techniques I'm teaching her. We've been over this several dozen times now." Baki replied with a groan, "Besides, you have techniques in your arsenal that she would have great difficulty performing due to the amount of power needed to perform them. I heard Jiraiya-sama himself has taught you some rather powerful jutsu, so I don't see what the problem is."

"He's got a point, Naruto." Kakashi piped in, "You're a powerhouse for chakra; leave the intricate techniques to those that can use them. I'm sure once you get a better grasp of your chakra down, you'll be able to start using the more advanced jutsu."

The blond just frowned as he continued to eat, deciding that he may as well drop his argument. That and Temari was giving him a warning look. Warning looks from her were not to be taken lightly.

Later that night, Naruto, Sasuke, and two Suna Chuunin were awake and on watch while the others slept. It was a pleasant surprise to Naruto when the two Chuunin introduced themselves and mentioned what they had all heard about Naruto during the invasion, stating that they were amazed that he had managed to go toe-to-toe with one of the Legendary Sannin as well as the revived Fourth Hokage. Naruto laughed a bit, assuring them that it wasn't as amazing as they thought, and that he had barely made it out of that battle with his life.

Now Naruto and Sasuke were sitting on a branch of a nearby tree, listening to the sounds of the crickets chirping their nocturnal melody to the darkness while a few owls hooted in the distance.

"Naruto...is it true that you fought against my brother?"

The blond looked to the Uchiha, and gave a slow nod, "Yeah. He seemed to be holding back, though. He was trying to capture me."

"Capture you?" Sasuke asked, "Why?"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, "I...can't really say. It's classified. Though..." he looked around before continuing just above a whisper, "Information says that it's related to the Kyuubi."

Sasuke frowned, "The Kyuubi? What do they want with the fox?"

"Not sure, but it can't be good." the blond answered, "That's all I really know, however. Ero-Sennin is looking into the matter with his spy network, and we've got Suna doing the same. If it relates to one Jinchuuriki, then it probably relates to the other eight as well, right?"

"Makes sense..." Sasuke spoke, "So...when you fought Itachi, what was it like?"

"It felt like I wasn't even scratching him. He was using Genjutsu a lot, and he used Katon against me. That and he can use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu like me." the blond sighed, "I tried everything I could, but he just brushed it off without even batting an eyelash."

Sasuke's fists clenched a bit, "So he's strong, huh?"

"More or less. His partner, Kisame Hoshigaki, wasn't much of a cakewalk either. Gaara was knocked out by him, and if Tsunade-baachan, Shizune-neechan, and Ero-Sennin hadn't arrived when they did, the both of us may have been captured."

"I see..." Sasuke replied, looking to the sky, "Naruto...when we get back, I want to fight you. If that's alright."

"Really?" Naruto laughed quietly, "The proud Uchiha wishes to step down to the level of Naruto Uzumaki?"

Sasuke didn't laugh, even though he knew Naruto was only joking, "I'm serious, Naruto. I want to gauge myself against you. From what I can tell, your one of the strongest ones in our class."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I don't know, Sasuke...I'd be happy to spar with you, but I don't think I'm the _strongest_. Not yet at least, heh. You'd have me beat if you used your Sharingan, I bet."

"That's doubtful. Kakashi-sensei has actually stated that I shouldn't rely so much on my bloodline's powers and try to improve myself in other areas as well." The Uchiha looked at the sleeping forms down below in the clearing, "I can't help but agree with that. Itachi always spoke about how the Uchiha were so proud of their abilities. While I cannot totally understand why he killed the clan, after looking back from my memories, I remember my clan being rather arrogant."

"Yeah...the Uchiha were often the ones that caught me if ANBU or Iruka-sensei didn't first, heheh."

Sasuke smiled a bit, "I want to continue to become stronger, Naruto. Not just so I can defeat Itachi someday, but so I can bring back honor to my clan's name. I'll do whatever it takes to do so."

Naruto noticed Sasuke rub his neck a little before looking out to the darkness again.

_Fwish!_

Sasuke and Naruto both reacted on instinct, dropping from their perches while to the two Suna Chuunin landed beside them. Sasuke activated his kekkai genkai, and looked to the pitch black forest, "I...I can't tell for sure, but..." He squinted a bit, "There's definitely a few ninja out there. I don't know how many, though."

Naruto summoned a few clones and roused the others awake. Soon everyone was on the alert, forming a tight circle as Kakashi spoke, "Tenten, do you have one of those slow burning flash bangs on you?"

The weapons mistress nodded, "I got enough to light up half of Konoha if you needed me to." She dug out a scroll and unraveled it while biting a thumb. Kakashi simply nodded, and the kunoichi summoned four from her scroll and tossed them into the air. The others quickly dropped low to the ground as the sky lit up, white light flashing through the darkened space between the trees around them.

Sasuke, Sharingan still activated, threw several shuriken as he got a glimpse of two blinded Iwa-nin standing on the limbs of a tree. They cried out before falling from their perches, dead before hitting the ground.

"Go!" Kakashi shouted, and the teams dispersed, choosing their targets as they did so.

Temari unfurled her fan, and with a mighty heave summoned a gale of wind that blasted several enemy shinobi back into the dark. She made a few seals before dashing forward, a layer of wind wrapped around her right hand. As she ran through the trees, she caught a glimpse of one of the enemy shinobi she had knocked back attempting to get up. He looked up just in time to get a glimpse of Temari leaping forward, and shouting a battle cry before thrusting her hand forward. The Kaze no Yaiba shredded the Chuunin apart as crimson spattered against Temari's purple battle dress.

The unfortunate shinobi's partner looked in shock before drawing a kunai, "You little bitch! That was my brother!"

Temari quickly drew a kunai while blocking his attack, the flashing white light providing her enough lighting to see her opponent. The Chuunin backed up for a moment to attempt another attack on her, but he suddenly dropped his weapon and his eyes rolled back into his skull. As he fell forward, a gentle voice spoke, "Temari-san, are you alright?"

Temari was greeted by Hinata, Byakugan activated and hand in a palm strike position. She gave a nod to the Hyuuga, who smiled back before jumping into the canopy once more.

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Sasuke were in the middle of their campground, engaging two Jounin-level shinobi judging by their flak jackets. The one facing off against the silver haired Jounin smirked, "Heh, well, if it isn't the Copy-cat Ninja himself. I was wondering if our sources were right about you being in River Country."

Kakashi merely blinked, "I see my reputation in Iwagakure is as strong as it used to be."

"Tch, don't get cocky. We've been prepared to take on you, as well as Jiraiya of the Sannin. That invasion was a failure, but we won't make the same mistakes again."

"You sure about that?"

"What are you-gah..." the shinobi fell dead as a Shadow Clone of Kakashi stood behind him, a kunai dripping with fresh blood. Kakashi turned to assist Sasuke, but was yet again assailed by another Iwa-nin.

_"Sasuke, hold on..."_ Kakashi thought as he blocked a kick to the temple.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was having some difficulty. His opponent seemed to be a Katon user as well, which was a bit unusual considering that most were Earth style users in Iwa. Every technique that Sasuke used from his fire technique library was simply countered with an equally strong fire jutsu.

"Consider yourself lucky, Uchiha brat. We were ordered to retrieve you _alive_." The ninja drew a sword, which immediately lit up with a red glow, "I'll just have to insure that you don't fight back. Sorry, nothing personal."

Sasuke was able to see chakra flowing from the man into the blade. He was embedding it with fire chakra, from the looks of it. Sasuke decided to hang back, and threw a salvo of shuriken, which were deflected by the blazing sword.

Sasuke dug into his backpack, and quickly threw one of his Demon Wind Shuriken. The massive projectile sliced through a few of the thinner trees as it made its way towards the Jounin. The jumped to the side, avoiding damage and getting an opening to attack Sasuke. With speed fitting of an experienced shinobi, the Iwa-nin was upon Sasuke once more.

Now forced on the defensive, Sasuke was ducking and dodging swipes from the red hot blade. Several times he felt light burns form just from the raw heat of the blade. Jumping back several feet, Sasuke went quickly through several hand seals and sparks began forming in his right hand, "_**Chidori**_!"

The Iwa-nin reacted on instinct, raising his fire-chakra coated blade as Sasuke's trump card jutsu clashed with steel. The burning sensation of the blade ran through Sasuke's arm, but he ignored the pain for now. Becoming desperate, Sasuke grabbed a hold of the blade, and electricity began to channel through the metallic weapon.

"Graagh!" The Iwa-nin cried out as he was electrocuted. He fell back, twitching violently and frothing at the mouth as his eyes rolled into his head. Now, Sasuke had killed before, he was certain of that; he wouldn't have been able to live through the Oto and Iwa invasion had he not done so. Still...this was the first time he watched his enemy die.

"Sasuke, behind you!"

The Uchiha turned around in time to see an Iwa-kunoichi with a kunai jumping down upon him. He whipped a kunai at her, which she deflected before kicking him in the face. He rolled across the ground several times before getting up and drawing another kunai, "What the hell are you Iwa-nin after?"

The kunoichi smirked, "We were told that two very valuable shinobi of Konoha are among your group; the son of the Yellow Flash, and the last loyal member of the Uchiha clan. Judging from those red eyes, I'm guessing you're the latter of the two. That makes things tough, because unlike the blond kid, you're wanted _alive_."

_"They're after both Naruto and me?"_ Sasuke thought, _"Damn...looks like either Orochimaru tipped off Iwa about him, or they figured it out some other way."_

"_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_!"

The Uchiha and kunoichi both looked in time to see a blur of wind flying at them before it enveloped the woman. She screamed in pain as dozens of small cuts appeared on her body. She fell to the ground as the winds died down, and a small white weasel appeared in front of Sasuke as his summoner landed.

"Naruto? You can summon weasels?"

"Just Kamatari, no one else!" Naruto replied as he flashed a grin, "You alright, Sasuke?"

"Yeah...but the ninja are here to capture me and...well, I think they want you dead, Naruto." Sasuke answered, "They know about your dad, it seems."

Naruto's expression became dour, "Ero-Sennin told me this would probably happen..."

Sasuke's Sharingan spun a bit as he looked into Naruto's piercing sapphire pupils, "Just stay with me; I won't let them kill you and you can cover my back as well."

"Cover _your_ back?" Naruto laughed, "So _I_ have to hang back?"

Sasuke smirked a bit, "You're too reckless; you'd go and charge headfirst if given the chance."

Naruto just waved a hand, "Whatever, let's go help the others!"

2121212121

It was about a half hour later when they fighting had stopped. Kiba had sustained a serious gash on his arm and both legs, but was otherwise fine. Akamaru had a minor limp, but Kiba fixed him up quickly with his knowledge in animal related first aid, and now the young nin-hound was wearing a splint on his leg as Kiba carried him.

Two of the Chuunin from Suna had been hit with poisoned weapons, but managed to bleed out the poison for the most part. One of them stated he had a minor stomach ache though, and his fingers were a bit numb. Kurenai had some serum of sorts, and after identifying the poison as a plant-related toxin, applied it to both areas where the poison entered their bodies.

Other than that, no major injuries were sustained. Kiba had even managed to restrain one of the Iwa-nin, who was now being questioned by Kakashi.

"Nice work, Kiba. You did a great job with the enemy; you've got some good handiwork skills with rope." Kakashi praised while turning to the Inuzuka, "ANBU could use more shinobi like you in the Hunter and Tracking Division."

Kurenai smiled, "Kiba's actually been considering that option for some time now. His mother said he would probably do well there; a lot of Inuzuka go into that field for at least a few years while serving Konoha."

"Heheh, yeah, Akamaru and I did pretty well, didn't we boy?"

"Arf arf!" the white colored dog replied while licking Kiba's face.

Kakashi returned his attention to the restrained enemy ninja, "Now then, I have a few questions for you. It would be in your best interest to answer them."

"Go to hell..." replied the Chuunin, "I won't tell you anything. I'm a shinobi of the Hidden Rock; I won't betray them."

Kakashi nodded, "As to be expected of a loyal ninja. Still, you _really_ should answer my questions. That or I force them out."

In response, the Chuunin spit in Kakashi's face.

"I see...Kurenai, could you have rookies go gather some more firewood?"

Kurenai nodded, noticing the edge in Kakashi's voice. She shuddered; Kakashi had been a nominee for the ANBU interrogation division in his younger years. She heard a few stories, but didn't like to think much about them.

"Baki..." Kakashi continued, "I remember you saying that you had a method that involved a heated kunai, right?"

Baki gave a nod, "It's a bit extreme, but we don't have much else if we need to go to the harsher methods of questioning."

"Fair enough. Get the kunai ready." Kakashi replied, returning his gaze to the Iwa-nin, who glared right back, "You kids go get some firewood now, and see if you can round up any wild fruit. Don't come back for fifteen minutes."

Tenten, Temari, Kiba, Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke couldn't help but cringe when they heard the screaming from the Iwa-nin as they gathered wood and some wild berries.

2121212121

The following day, Kakashi and Baki left the enemy Iwa-nin along with the kunoichi Naruto had knocked out tied to a tree. Naruto then sent a toad to inform Konoha of their two captives. By tomorrow the Hidden Rock nin would be in Konohagakure's prison walls. The small scuffle last night was more or less the first 'unofficial' fight of the Fourth Shinobi War.

All together, there had been twenty-one shinobi from Iwa that had attacked the group last night. Judging by the fact that the Suna and Konoha ninja had gotten out relatively unharmed, either Iwa was lacking proper training, or had sent out an inexperienced group to intercept them.

Having Kakashi, Kurenai, and Baki along also may have affected the fight, but the point remained that the fight had been very one-sided.

"Naruto and Sasuke, if what the enemy told us is true, you two will likely be unable to take many missions leaving the village for awhile. Sasuke, as much as I hate to say it, the Sharingan _does_ place a lot of importance upon you. Naruto, I'm sure you can understand why your safety is a priority to Suna and Konoha." Kakashi looked up to the midday sun, "Let's try and pick up the pace a bit. I'd like to be home by tomorrow afternoon."

The night came and went without incident for the shinobi. The following morning they were on the move by a quarter to seven. At four in the afternoon, they reached the front gates of Hidden Leaf, a bit tired, but happy to be back.

"Kiba, I want you to go the hospital and get those wounds treated properly. We managed to clean them out, but you still have the risk of infection."

"Kurenai-sensei, I'll be-" the Inuzuka bit his tongue as he received a stern look from the Jounin, "Yes, ma'am."

"Glad you see things my way." Kurenai stated, her attitude taking a complete change as she smiled, "Hinata, go along with him to make sure he doesn't decide to change his mind. Make sure they get Akamaru looked at too."

"Yes, sensei." Hinata replied while taking one of Kiba's hands as he grumbled a bit, Akamaru sitting on top of his head.

"We're going to go to the hospital as well. We may be fine, but there could still be trace amounts of that poison in our bodies." spoke one of the Chuunin from Suna. After giving a quick bow to the others, they headed towards the direction that Hinata and Kiba were taking. The remaining shinobi from Hidden Sand except Baki went to the village gate station to inform Konohagakure of their arrival.

"Well, I need to go report the mission's success to the Godaime." Kakashi stated as he dug into his pocket for Icha Icha, "Great work everyone." He looked to Sasuke for a moment before continuing, "Sasuke, I wanted to congratulate you on the fine alteration you made for Chidori two nights ago. It was well executed."

With that, the Jounin vanished in a whirl of leaves. Kurenai bade the four remaining kid farewell and did likewise. Baki was the last to leave them, stating he had to go meet with the Hokage as well with the other Suna nin.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm hungry!" Naruto stated as he stretched a bit, "Ichiraku's, anyone?"

"I actually like the sound of ramen right now." Tenten replied.

Temari gave a nod while Sasuke simply shrugged while following the whisker-marked blond. Within five minutes they were feasting on bowls of the delicious noodle dish.

"Teuchi-san, another bowl, please." Sasuke spoke as he set down his chopsticks. The elderly man laughed while giving a nod to the Uchiha.

"I'm impressed, Sasuke. This is the first time you've had three bowls in one sitting at my place."

"I'm hungry. Besides, while Naruto is a bit of an idiot, he does have good taste." He smirked as Naruto gave him a flat look, noodles hanging from his mouth.

"Sasuke, be nice to my customers. I don't want to lose them, haha." Teuchi joked as he brought another bowl of the special beef and tomato ramen. The ramen bar owner had learned from the Uchiha himself that he had a love for the red fruit, and immediately went about creating a dish that appealed to Sasuke's tastes. Seeing as how Naruto had been gone for quite some time, Sasuke and Sakura had become two of his reliable regularly paying customers.

Temari and Tenten had each ordered chicken and vegetable ramen, and were still on their first bowl, engaging in conversation on current prices of exotic weaponry.

"Naruto..." Sasuke began, "When we have time...I want to spar with you."

Naruto looked up from his bowl and grinned, "You got it, Sasuke. Name the time and place and I'm there."

"How about now? Training ground seven."

"Er...right _now_?" Naruto asked, "Can't you wait for a _little_ bit? Maybe tomorrow. I mean-"

"You said name the time and place. Now, training ground seven." Sasuke repeated, a competitive glint in his eyes, "Unless you're chickening out." Sasuke placed down the payment for his meal and got up.

"Now I never said I wouldn't, but...gah, damn it." Naruto slapped down a few ryu notes, "Keep the change, old man."

Temari and Tenten, having overheard the challenge issued by Sasuke, got up after paying their bills, "May as well go watch. Anything that separates Naruto from his food is definitely important."

It wasn't long before the four found themselves at training ground seven, Naruto scowling a bit while Sasuke had a smirk on his face still, "Come on, Naruto. It's not like you can't go back and get more ramen later."

"Yeah, but I might not be hungry later." the blond countered, "Let's get this going already."

Sasuke took a stance while Naruto did the same.

"Ground rules?"

Sasuke shrugged, "No kicking in the groin?"

"Good enough." Naruto answered.

Tenten and Temari watched from the shade of a tree, both interested in seeing what would happen. The wind user looked to Tenten for a moment, "So, why do you think Iwa wants to capture Sasuke alive?"

Tenten frowned, "It's just as Kakashi-sensei said; the Sharingan. They're probably after his bloodline. Kind of like the case with the Hyuuga and Kumogakure years ago."

The blond kunoichi gave a nod, "That makes sense..."

"What about Naruto? What's with the sudden order for him to be killed?"

Temari opened her mouth to speak, but didn't speak right away. She instead went quiet for a few moments before replying, "I...I think it's because of his parents."

"Parents?"

"Well, if you haven't heard now, you will eventually." Temari continued, "Naruto's father was the Yondaime Hokage."

Tenten's eyes widened, "You're kidding me. Naruto's dad was the Yellow Flash?"

Temari nodded, "Correct. Naruto just found out recently, from what it sounds like."

The weapons specialist looked back to Naruto, "Wow...do you suppose that Iwa has a grudge that they're directing towards Naruto for all the deaths caused by Minato Namikaze during the Third Shinobi War?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. They probably fear he'll end up becoming just as much of a threat to their forces in the war."

"So, wait, why wasn't Naruto ever informed of his heritage?" Tenten questioned, "If I recall correctly, Minato Namikaze was a _superb_ ninja while he was alive."

Again, Temari was silent for a few moments, "I...I think it was to protect him from the very thing he's facing right now; being hunted."

Tenten shook her head, "Poor guy. He had an amazing ninja for a father, but the Kyuubi had to go and kill him..."

"Yeah..." Temari replied, biting her tongue. She wouldn't go into anymore details without Naruto being there to speak for himself.

Turning their attention to the two boys, they noticed that they had begun to spar. Sasuke and Naruto were trading blows in a Taijutsu match at the moment, Sasuke's technique showing a bit more finesse compared to Naruto's. In truth, Naruto never really had much of a need to develop a style; his strength alone was usually enough to compensate for a lack of any real form. However, Baki had insisted that Naruto learn at least the basics of one style. It was effectively named the 'Falling Falcon' style because of the way it coordinated powerful strikes with quick and at times unpredictable movements. The style was very easy to improvise with, and seeing as Naruto had never been a specialist in Taijutsu, preferring to overwhelm and brawl with his opponents, it was a perfect style for him.

Sasuke caught Naruto in the ribs, sending the blond falling over to the ground. Naruto quickly recovered and ducked under another kick before attempting to deck the Uchiha in the jaw. Sasuke caught it, and pulled Naruto in to knee him in the gut. The blond reacted by instinct, blocking the knee with his own. The two locked gazes for a moment before pushing away from each other.

"_**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu**_!"

Sasuke spat out a barrage of fireballs, which Naruto began to sprint ahead of in order to avoid being burnt. Skidding quickly, he flipped over the incoming balls of fire and went through a few seals, "_**Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu**_!"

Sasuke was forced to move as the wave of high pressure air smashed into the ground where he was standing. Narrowly avoiding being slammed into the ground, the Uchiha dashed forward while Naruto was landing. The two locked kunai together as they met, both intent on making the other lose ground. Though he tried, Sasuke couldn't match Naruto's raw strength. He eventually felt his feet begin to slide back, and made a split second decision to jump back, craning his neck back as Naruto attempted to kick him with a roundhouse kick.

"Naruto sure can keep on the offense." Tenten noted, "Though it looks like Sasuke's got more control over this battle. He seems to be able to counter most of what Naruto throws at him."

"Naruto's always been more inclined to go with his gut instincts. Though, it's never good to underestimate him; he's good at coming up with on-the-fly plans that work." Temari spoke with a smirk, "Still, over all, I think Sasuke has the advantage here; the Sharingan, and an arsenal of fire jutsu to use. Naruto's more in favor of Fuuton and close combat."

"Don't forget about his clones." Tenten added.

"That too. He can summon more clones than most experienced shinobi could within a month's time."

While the two kunoichi continued to watch, Sasuke and Naruto were turning up the heat. They had stopped pulling their punches, and Sasuke was taking a more offensive approach. He had his Sharingan active, namely to keep up with Naruto's speed.

_"He's really gained a lot of speed since he left back in Wave Country. I never really realized how much though until now..."_ Sasuke thought as his kekkai genkai helped him keep a peg on the blond.

Catching a fist from the Jinchuuriki boy, he twisted Naruto's arm, but was caught by surprise when the Naruto before him dissipated in a puff of smoke.

"How did-?" He didn't have any time to react as the sound of metal whistling through the wind caught his attention. He jumped away as several kunai landed where his feet had been. Three Shadow Clones began to attack the Uchiha while the real Naruto hung back, running through a string of seals.

"No you don't! _**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**_!"

The giant fireball blasted through the clones and made its way to Naruto. He cursed under his breath as he was interrupted from completing his jutsu, and jumped into the air. He realized his mistake too late, and found several shuriken flying towards his arms. He twisted his body to avoid the projectiles, but was unable to counter the sudden appearance of Sasuke.

Naruto blocked a punch to the face, then another to the side of the head. Sasuke grabbed a hold of one of his left wrist and palmed him in the left shoulder before kneeing him in the gut. Naruto then felt himself spun around once before feeling an impact in the gut from the back of Sasuke's heel.

Sasuke looked down to the blond, "The Shishi Rendan alters a lot with every use..." He noticed Naruto getting back up though, much to his surprise, "You're still capable of fighting, huh?"

Naruto spit up a little blood, but appeared fine otherwise, "Heh, you could have warned me."

"You should have been paying more attention."

Naruto just shrugged before getting back into his stance, "Whatever, let's go. Round two."

The boys ran at each other again, fists smashing into each other, then each having a leg block the others from kicking them. Sasuke attempted to deliver a series of punches, but Naruto seemed to gain a second wind, raising his hands up as Sasuke delivered a volleying barrage of punches. Before he could react, Sasuke was dealt a powerful jab to the jaw from Naruto, and staggered a bit. He tasted blood.

"Damn it..." Sasuke growled, a bit angry for falling into such an obvious trap, "Lucy shot."

"Didn't look that way from here," Naruto retorted, though he was grinning, "I don't know what you're complaining about; so far blow for blow, I've taken the beating around here."

Sasuke's Sharingan spun a bit, "Don't try and patronize me, Naruto. I'm serious about this."

The blond frowned a bit, "It's just s a spar, Sasuke."

"It's not just a spar. I need to see how I measure up to you in strength. You lasted against my brother. I need to see if I could do the same." the Uchiha began, "So don't go and take it easy on me just because we're both teammates."

"Sasuke..."

"I said don't take it easy on me!"

Naruto was forced to block a powerful haymaker, nearly stumbling to the ground as he withdrew from behind his arm, "Hey, what gives! That was _not_ a spar-level punch, teme!" Naruto would have griped more, but his words caught in his throat.

Sasuke was slowing developing flame-like markings on his skin. He grimaced, _"The Curse Mark...so that's what has gotten him all rattled up."_

Meanwhile, Sasuke was fuming. He hated the fact that while he was getting worn down, Naruto only seemed to be getting tougher to take down, _"Damn it! I thought I was better than this! Why is he suddenly able to resist my attacks like this? Wait..."_

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. There was one attack he hadn't tried yet.

Should he use it? No, if he did...but this was Naruto. Surely he'd be able to dodge. Sasuke could see what would need to be improved by watching what Naruto would do.

"Hmph..." Sasuke ran through several seals, and suddenly his hand lit up. His Sharingan blazing, he ran forward in a sudden burst of speed.

"What...what is that?" Naruto asked himself. Sasuke's hand was glowing, and it almost appeared to be like lightning. Wait, lightning!

Naruto smirked, "Nice try, Sasuke, but that won't work!" Naruto channeled chakra into his hands quickly, and wind began to envelope both of them. Sasuke jumped up before thrusting his hand forward, the chakra surge sparking like a concentrated lightning storm in his palm.

Naruto raised both hands, and for a moment he was able to halt Sasuke. However, it was only for a moment...

Had Naruto known just how powerful the Chidori really was, and if he had perhaps once gotten a real glimpse at what it was capable of, maybe he would have known to dodge. However, Naruto had been thinking of countering Sasuke's lightning with his wind, as normally wind would negate the electrically powered jutsu.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated Sasuke's jutsu. Being the case, he was shocked when a second after he halted the attack, Sasuke's crackling hand broke through his wind-reinforced palms and rammed into his right shoulder.

The sound of flesh being pierced. A scream from a boy. A cry from a girl. The sound of a body dropping to the ground while another boy began to call to the other in a panicked voice.

"Naruto! Naruto...shit!" Sasuke looked into the unfocused eyes of Naruto, who was suddenly shaking, "N-Naruto!"

"Get off him! Get off him!" Temari screamed, pushing Sasuke off. Naruto was still breathing, but his clothes were stained in his own blood. Ignoring this, Temari ripped a portion of her sleeve and pressed down on the wound before turning to Tenten, tears in her eyes, "Tenten, go get help, now! He's in shock!"

Tenten blinked once before wordlessly dashing to the hospital as fast as she could. Sasuke stood there, trying to wrap his mind around what was happening. He looked to his hand, and saw the red liquid on his fingers.

Blood. His friend's blood. Naruto Uzumaki's blood was on his fingers.

**End of Chapter Twenty-one: Uh oh! Reckless move, Sasuke! What now? A friendly spar turned into life-threatening situation! Crap, what do do? Well, looks like you'll have to wait, huh? Yeah, sorry, but it's happening. I'm an evil prick that way. Go ahead, say it! Ahahaha!**

I would also like to thank Paradox Jast for helping make this chapter what it is. Thanks, as always, Jast!

Anyway...um, please keep an eye out for the next chapter. Until then, later!


	22. Stray Leaf

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, this includes all parts of the franchise, including all plot twists involving a certain nine-tailed fox's past. Boy, I'm starting to feel bad for Kyuubi with all the crud it's been through, lol.**

**Chapter 22: Stray Leaf**

"...coming around...tell..."

"He's...than most, and his breathing...he'll be fine, Temari..."

"...-raiya's right, Temari...give the...a few minutes to recover...just waking up, and you know he'll be confused as hell at first."

Naruto blinked as a blinding light invaded his vision. He groggily lifted an arm, only to wince as he felt a dull, throbbing pain run up his shoulder. Grunting, he rolled his head to see a heavy amount of bandages covering the upper right section of his body. He groaned as let his eyes adjust to the hospital lighting, the smell of iodine invading his senses, "I hate hospitals."

"You and me both, Naruto."

The blond looked to his left to see Jiraiya sitting in a chair while smiling a little, "Ero-Sennin?"

"How do you feel, Naruto?"

"Like crap." the Jinchuuriki replied as the Toad Sage gave a bark of laughter.

"I can imagine..." Jiraiya's smile faded a bit, "So...are you sure you're alright?"

"Aside from the bleariness of pain killers in my system and that dull pain, yeah..." Naruto lifted his left arm and smoothed his hair a little, "I want to say it was all my imagination...but I don't suspect there's a story about me just tripping on anything and falling on a kunai sticking out of the ground, is there?"

"Afraid not. You were hit with a Chidori, and you're lucky to be as active as you are after five days time, let alone alive." spoke a new voice. Naruto looked to his right to see Tsunade looking at him, a clipboard in hand. Naruto also took note of two more kunoichi by the Godaime's side; Temari and Sakura, "Welcome back, Naruto. You had us all pretty scared."

"..." Naruto looked to the bandages on his bicep area and frowned a little, "So...where's Sasuke?"

"He's in a holding cell right now." Tsunade replied, looking up from her clipboard, "Considering he almost killed you, I'd say that's pretty generous for him. Had it not been for Tenten, who nearly passed out from running so hard to the hospital wing asking for Emergency response, you would probably be another tragic accident from reckless training in jutsu."

"That wasn't an _accident_, Tsunade-sama." Temari spoke, "Sasuke was well aware of the capabilities of that technique; he shouldn't have been using that in a sparring match where the other doesn't have proper experience against it."

Sakura, who had been looking out a window for most of the time, looked to Temari for a moment before looking back to the window. She had a rather upset aura about her, and Naruto could understand quite well.

"The good news is that your...tenant...gives you some unnaturally high regenerative abilities, Naruto. By the time the Medi-nin team arrived with Tenten, your lung's seared flesh had regenerated, the dead tissues having been replaced."

"M-my lung?" Naruto stammered, and he finally noticed how weak his voice sounded, "H-how bad was it?"

"You lost a lot of blood, Naruto, and were about a step from Death's door." Jiraiya answered, "It was a good thing the hospital's not too far from the training grounds."

Tsunade gave a nod in agreement, "He's right, gaki. All things considered, you're doing amazingly well for only a few days' rest." She looked to Sakura, "Sakura here has decided to take up an apprenticeship with me on combat and Medic-nin training. She'll be shadowing Shizune and I for the next couple of days whenever there's time."

Naruto looked to the pink-haired Chuunin, who had her green vest on over her red battle dress. He noticed a new addition to her wardrobe, however, though it was slight; a red cross on a white patch sewn onto the upper left pocket of her vest. The universal symbol for first aid.

Sakura gave Naruto a weak smile, "I finally found a something that I want to specialize in, Naruto. That and Genjutsu."

"That's great, Sakura-chan." Naruto replied. He then looked to Temari, who's eyes he half suspected had been upon him the whole time since he woke up, "Hi, Temari-chan."

She shed a few quiet tears, an expression somewhere between a frown and a grimace on her face, "You had me staying up for three whole days with only tea to drink and no appetite to eat..."

"What" Naruto spoke, surprise evident in his voice, "Temari-chan, I had no way of controlling-"

Two slender, yet strong arms wrapped around Naruto with strength somewhere between crushing and feather-light, "It's alright. You're alive...that's what matters..."

Jiraiya and Tsunade took their leave, Sakura lingering for a moment longer. Naruto noticed she appeared a bit exhausted, but the relief etched onto her features was a welcome sign to the blond.

"I'll...be by later to check up on you and bring lunch, Naruto." Sakura said. She quietly turned around and headed out the door, closing it silently behind her.

Temari eventually let go of Naruto's neck, but continued to hold a hand, "Tsunade-sama says that you almost got an artery ruptured from that attack of Sasuke's. If that had been the case, I don't think we would have been able..." She went quiet, "Why did you have to go and try to block that attack? The Chidori isn't something to try and _stop_, Naruto."

"I...I didn't know, Temari, honest." Naruto said, "I saw lightning coming off his hand, and I figured I could cancel out the Raiton with my wind power. I never knew there was that much power behind Sasuke's jutsu, otherwise I would have tried to get away."

The kunoichi frowned, "You mean you've never heard of the Chidori? Naruto...that attack is what made Kakashi Hatake famous in the Third Shinobi War."

"Well, in all due fairness, I kind of left my sensei and team when we were just starting to get adjusted to each other. I didn't really know about Kakashi-sensei that much..."

Letting out a sigh, Temari sat on the chair by Naruto's bedside, "Well, even so, Sasuke had no excuse to do that to you." Her features darkened a bit, "As far as I'm concerned he should be locked up in that stinking cell for years. Shinobi belonging to a village don't go and attack their comrades with assassination techniques, regardless of whether it's a spar or not."

"Temari-chan..."

"No! I'm serious. After you were stabilized, I nearly beat that damn prick if it weren't for Gaara and Kankuro stopping me." She looked to the window, her eyes focused on the Hokage Tower, "He's a damned fool if he thinks that what he did was excusable."

Naruto leaned back against the headboard of his bed, "I guess...so, what are they planning on doing?"

"He'll be questioned, of course. Either way, he's being retained for _at least_ six months the way things are going for him." Temari's fists clenched a bit, "Kakashi was surprisingly agreeable about that; he even stated that he was willing to take blame for teaching Sasuke that jutsu."

"Because he taught Sasuke the technique." It wasn't a question. Naruto understood the situation, "Well...what did the council say?"

Temari shook her head, "They won't arrest Kakashi; he's needed for the war, and he wasn't directly involved with the incident. He's still beating himself up over it from what Tayuya and Sakura have told me."

"Tayuya...oh, yeah, she's the girl who joined Team Seven, right? From Kiri?"

Temari gave a nod, a bit relieved to have a change of subject, "Yeah. She's pretty cool. She specializes in Genjutsu and is really good at tactics in combat, from what Sakura's told me." She smiled a bit, "Those two have really gotten along. I think Sakura's glad to have a fellow kunoichi to look up to that's around her age. It's really helped her morale. Tayuya was the one who encouraged Sakura to become a medic, after all."

"Really?" Naruto chuckled a bit, "I think I'll have to meet this Tayuya after I'm out of here. She seems like a really nice person."

"Yeah, but first," Temari stood up, her face suddenly stern, "You have to rest. Don't go and try and sneak out of here; Tsunade-sama gave me free reign over dealing with that if you decide to go and pull a fast one on us."

Naruto sunk into his bed a bit, "Fine..."

Temari grinned, "That's a good boy." She leaned down and pecked him on the cheek, "Now, remember, stay here until your cleared. Otherwise I'll deal with you."

As soon as the Suna kunoichi had exited the room, Naruto's half smile turned to a frown. Sasuke was being held in a prison cell. No doubt he was being questioned at the moment. While Naruto wanted to believe Sasuke had just been overdoing it during their spar, a part of him couldn't help but think that maybe it had been intentional. Sasuke's body had the Curse Mark spreading on him right before he attacked. Maybe...

The blond ran a hand through his hair and groaned. He really wished he knew more about Fuuinjutsu. He had the knowledge equivalent of an beginning apprentice seal maker under his belt right now, according to Jiraiya. That meant he basically had just scratched the surface of that field of ninja arts. If he learned more, maybe he could find a way to further remove that burden Sasuke was dealing with.

There was a thought that crossed Naruto's mind, though. He recalled Jiraiya telling him that Anko Mitarashi had a similar predicament. He had told Naruto that he personally had been the one to place the seal over the mark for her. She had never called upon the Curse Mark's power since then. The seal's power was based on the afflicted person's will to not draw upon the power.

This meant that Sasuke had willingly—or unconsciously—drawn upon that sealed power so he could gain the upper hand in that match. Thinking of that made Naruto wince as the phantom pain in his shoulder returned. Sasuke _wanted_ that power.

Why though?

2222222222

"I hope you realize that the council is _not_ going to be favoring you this time, Sasuke."

"..."

Kakashi sighed as he leaned against the wall opposite of Sasuke's jail cell, the reinforced iron bars along with several seals putting space between the two Konoha-nin, "Sasuke, why did you go that far? I _know_ you're aware of how dangerous that technique is. You stated it yourself that the Chidori will be like a trump card for you when all else fails. Yet you go and try it off no more than a few minutes into a spar with Naruto. Not a life or death fight, but a spar!"

"I know!" Sasuke retorted, surprising Kakashi by the sudden outburst, "Damn it, I know, alright? You act like I don't even care about what happened! I felt the inside of Naruto's body! I felt his lung get roasted in my damn hand! You don't think I feel like utter crap after that?"

Kakashi was quiet as he looked to his student, frowning as Sasuke remained on his bench against the wall, "The only thing I can tell you to do now is be honest. They'll be able to tell if you're lying, and it's better off if you just tell them the truth on what happened. Temari and Tenten were there as well, and if you go and state that you 'tripped' or something like that, you'll have two kunoichi to testify against, as well as Naruto..." The Jounin went silent after that, letting his words sink into the Uchiha.

"...can I be executed for this?"

"Fortunately the circumstances won't lead to that happening, but if Naruto had died when you used the Chidori on him...then there is a chance that you could have been put to death..."

"Yeah, but I bet some people would have been elated to hear that the fox boy was killed." Sasuke's voice was bitter, "I know for a fact that some people are going to think I was trying to 'kill the demon', but..." Sasuke looked up to Kakashi, bags hanging under his eyes, "I would never try and do that to Naruto."

Seeing the haunted look in his eyes, Kakashi was convinced that Sasuke's words were genuine, "I realize that. Still, it doesn't change the fact that you used an assassination technique on a ninja of not only Konoha, but also of Suna. There could have been a political conflict, Sasuke. Do you realize that?"

"No, I wasn't thinking about that when I was sparring with Naruto. I was thinking about what I can do to get past his defense." the Uchiha admitted, "I just...lost focus control for a moment and the next thing I knew, my hand was piercing his flesh."

Closing his one visible eye, Kakashi thought out what he would say next to the Uchiha. He had to be careful not to make it sound like he was accusing the boy, "Sasuke...did something...odd happen during your spar that you can recall?"

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed for a moment before he spoke, "I don't know."

"Sasuke..."

The Uchiha looked back down to the floor, "I...kind of let the Curse Mark take over. Just for a second, though, I didn't mean for it to happen..."

Kakashi let out another sigh of aggravation and mental fatigue, "This isn't going to sit well when you tell them that during questioning." He pushed off against the wall before continuing, "I should go see how Naruto's doing. He was making a rapid recovery from what I heard a few hours ago, so hopefully he's awake now." He started walking, "I'll stop by later, Sasuke. In the meantime do what the guards say and just cooperate, alright?"

"Yeah, I will."

Kakashi gave a nod, "Alright. Get some rest, now. You'll need it."

With that, the Jounin left. Sasuke continued to look to the floor as he contemplated his current predicament. He had been foolish, and he truly had no desire to argue with his current punishment. Still...the fact that he had called upon the Curse Mark would likely be a black mark on his record when they began to question him.

He reached with his right hand and touched the spot where he could feel the phantom throbbing sensation of the mark on his neck. Though he didn't want to admit it...the amount of power he got from the Curse Mark was quite impressive. While he knew that it was a horrible power, and using it would end up doing more damage to him in the long run...if he learned how to harness it properly, maybe he could...

No, using the Curse Mark was definitely a bad thing to do in a battle. While it may provide a giant boost in power, using it too often was said to erode the mind. Still, if he wanted to become stronger, that Curse Mark may provide...

Sasuke shook his head. He was thinking too much about the damned mark. He lay on his side, back to the bars of his cell, and closed his eyes. He was feeling fatigued, and only after hearing that Naruto was recovering did he feel any better.

_"Even after using my most powerful jutsu, he still managed to heal within three days' time."_ Sasuke couldn't help but mentally grimace at that thought. While it may not be so much the case, Sasuke felt like he was light years behind Naruto in terms of skill and power. Naruto had a great grasp over Fuuton, and his speed had nearly double since he had first been part of Team Seven. Not only that, but he had survived against Itachi, and managed to put up a decent defense according to what word of mouth said.

_"Somehow I'll have to get more power. If I can't beat Naruto, then I'm no where near ready to take down Itachi..."_ the Uchiha thought as he let his thoughts begin to wander. Sleep eventually overcame him, despite the cold cell and the heavy burden on his mind.

2222222222

"So...what do we do if we run into her?"

"We'll simply eliminate her. Orochimaru-sama has deemed her lack of reports an act of treason. I highly doubt she was unable to gather anything on Konoha, let alone try and convince Sasuke Uchiha to leave with her to Otogakure."

Four males stood within the heavy foliage of Konoha's forest just outside the main gate of the village. Their apparent leader's eyes were trained on the two guards stationed on either side of the wooden doors, "They should be switching watch with the next two shinobi soon. We move once that happens."

"Roger." was the reply from the other three shinobi.

"Oi, Kimimaro, what exactly is the plan for getting into Konoha's prisoner containment area? It's not exactly easy to infiltrate."

The leader looked to the young male with four arms and a messy ponytail of black hair, "Kidomaru, I assure you that infiltrating Konoha will not be hard once we get inside the walls."

"Doubt it. These damned Leaf-nin are on alert with the war starting up."

Kimimaro locked gazes with the gray haired male, Sakon, and his eyes narrowed, "You doubt my abilities?"

Sakon grit his teeth, but before he could speak, a second head that was attached to his neck spoke, "Sakon, just shut up, will you?"

"Tch...fine, Ukon..." Sakon quieted down once more, "I just don't think we'll be able to move around so easily, especially with Jirobou, tailing behind us."

"What's that supposed to mean?" spoke the red mohawked shinobi, "You trying to start something, Sakon?"

"Enough, both of you." spoke Kimimaro, "This mission will _not_ end in failure. Is that understood?"

"Yeah." replied the three other shinobi.

Kimimaro looked forward once more to the gate, "Good. Tayuya has already failed us. She'll be dealt with soon enough, but our main priority is making contact with Sasuke Uchiha."

The four didn't have to wait much more than a few minutes before the guards left their post. There was only a minute gap between the exchange in guard duty, so they had to be quick.

"Go!" spoke Kimimaro. They were soon blurs, dashing past the gate and into the shadows of the night. They ducked into a large patch of shrubs near a building, and Kimimaro spoke, "Sasuke Uchiha is being held within the first level of the confinement area. It should be no problem getting to him. However, for good measure..." Kimimaro pulled out a scroll, unraveled it, and unsealed four uniforms of Konoha Chuunin, "If anyone questions us, simply state that we're a Chuunin team that will be team that will be specializing in capture of missing-nin, and that we are getting an idea of what the facility is like."

Kidomaru gave a smirk, "Heh, they actually managed to get us uniforms? These from those losers Orochimaru-sama had tortured a month back, aren't they?"

After they put on their disguises, hitai-ates included, they continued to the place where Sasuke was being held.

They managed to enter the building with little trouble, Kimimaro simply giving a nod to the shinobi stationed at the front desk. He seemed unconcerned with the arrival of the four, "Oh, so you're the four guards here to take next shift?"

The four shinobi looked to each other before Kimimaro spoke, "Correct."

"Cool. The other guys should be down the hall. Just let them know before getting to work."

Five minutes later found four Konoha prison guards knocked out, and thrown into a cell with muting seals placed over the area to prevent them from calling out when they woke up. The four reached the cell of Sasuke, and Kimimaro rang on the cell bars, "Sasuke Uchiha. Wake up."

The raven haired youth stirred and opened one eye, "What? Do they need to question me already?"

"No. We're offering you a chance to get out of this prison and village."

Sasuke bolted up, "What?" He studied the faces of the four before speaking, "Why the hell did they send four of you here? They used to only have two here if they needed to move me."

Kidomaru decided to explain further, "Kid, we're not Konoha-ninja."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "You're not?"

The four legged youth pulled out the Oto hitai-ate from under his vest and smirked, "Nope. We're Sound-nin."

For a moment they thought Sasuke was going to yell out, but Kimimaro spoke, "Don't bother. The guards are all knocked out. They won't be able to do anything for you."

The Uchiha frowned, "So, you're working for that lowlife Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru-_sama_ has taken an interest in you, Uchiha." Kimimaro replied, "He's willing to offer you a chance to control that power he gave you. You do know what I speak of, don't you?"

"...the Curse Mark." Sasuke answered, "What about it?"

"We can help you gain more power and learn how to control the mark's power." Sakon spoke with a grin, "We know you've used it; don't deny it. It's part of the reason you're in this cell right now."

"That Curse Mark has done nothing but give me trouble. I want nothing to do with it."

Kidomaru snickered, "Sure. That's why you've used it, right?" Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, but he said nothing as he looked to the floor, "Heheh, I knew it. Don't feel bad. The Curse Mark is a gift from Orochimaru-sama. These Leaf-heads don't realize that; they fear real power. That's why they've got you stuffed in this stinking place."

"That's not true. I committed a crime; I _deserve_ this." Sasuke spat.

"Perhaps you need to see this from another perspective, Uchiha." Kimimaro began, "As of right now, your shinobi career is more or less tarnished. You nearly killed a shinobi of not only your village, but also of Suna. War is at hand; Konoha cannot have possible traitors running about, even if they're not intentional traitors."

Sasuke said nothing.

"You are shackled down here. You're a prisoner, and they will not likely give you another chance for a long while. You'll never be able to get stronger, and from what we know, you want power, correct?"

"..."

"Join our forces and we'll give you a chance to gain that power, and much more." Kimimaro continued, "Orochimaru-sama is a powerful man; he will grant power to those he favors."

Sasuke's eyes were locked with the green eyes of Kimimaro. He said nothing, but he didn't look like he wasn't willing to listen further.

"Give our proposition some thought, Uchiha. You have one day to think it over..." Kimimaro concluded. With that, the four left, each locking gazes with him for a brief moment before disappearing down the hall.

The guards would later awaken in the middle of the hall where they had been knocked out, unsure of what had happened. After speaking with the shinobi at the prison's front desk, they concluded that enemy shinobi must have slipped in. However, nothing aside from the four being knocked out occurred, leaving them stumped on what they had infiltrated the building for. They had asked Sasuke if he had seen anything suspicious happen that night.

Sasuke simply shook his head, stating he had been sleeping the whole time.

2222222222

"Kabuto, tell me, why did you insist on sending five teams of shinobi to Konoha to meet with Kimimaro and the others?"

Kabuto looked up from his kneeling bow, "Orochimaru-sama, with all due respect, I believe Konoha's much stronger than we've given them credit for. They have many powerful shinobi, though the village has been accustomed to peace until recently. Our invasion seemed to shake them out of that state of mind. I simply thought it would be a good idea to have reinforcements that will insure that Sasuke makes it to us safely."

Orochimaru was quiet for a moment, but eventually nodded, "I see. I suppose I cannot blame you for playing it safely. We misjudged the Hidden Leaf; making mistakes again isn't an option." The Snake Summoner of the Sannin stood up and walked towards Kabuto. The silver haired shinobi rose, and walked with Orochimaru as they exited his private quarters, "We don't have much time, though, I'm afraid. They need to get Sasuke here as soon as possible."

"Shall I prepare a backup host if things don't go as planned?"

For a moment the pale skinned man's eyes met Kabuto's, a frown marring his features, "There won't be a need for that. I'll simply wait unt-gah!" Orochimaru winced as a sudden jolt of pain ran through his chest, "Curse this frail body..." He looked back to Kabuto before continuing, "On second thought, Kabuto, go ahead and make the proper arrangements. If I must settle for a new host before Sasuke-kun arrives, so be it. I will simply have to train the boy before that time arrives for me to make him mine."

Kabuto gave a bow before turning down a separate hallway, making his way to the prisoners' chambers. He already had his plan ready. It would be quite simple, really, and save work for both him and Orochimaru.

As the doors opened to the prisoners' chambers, he walked into the center of the round, arena-like room. There were several floors of prison cells surrounding a center, and a single light shined down onto Kabuto as he stood before the prisoners.

"I have a proposition for those of you here. One of you may leave this prison, however, the decision on who that person will be lies in all of you." He looked around the room, and could feel the eyes of the weary prisoners upon him, "Just remember...only one can leave here." With that, he left the room, the door shutting behind him and locking. There was a sudden shuttering sound of chains being pulled, and the cell doors all opened at once. There were a few moments of silence that seemed to last almost a lifetime for all of those in the room. Slowly, a few walked out of their cells, unsure if this was a trick or not.

Soon, all of the retained people were standing outside of their cells, looking around and at each other.

Only one could leave...just one...

One of the younger male prisoners suddenly ran forward and slammed a knee into a middle-aged man, knocking him to the ground. Then another man jumped into the fight, punching the assaulter with a right hook. This signaled for the others to begin fighting as well.

Meanwhile, Kabuto stood outside of the prison door, smirking a bit, "That was easier than I had expected."

2222222222

Tayuya sat on her futon, the muffled silence of her quaint flat driving her mad. She had not moved from her spot since she had gotten home from her training with Kakashi and Sakura. Earlier today she had met Naruto, who was given leave from the hospital by the Godaime herself. He seemed to be elated to meet the girl who supposedly helped Sakura take on an apprenticeship with Tsunade.

Sakura...

Thinking of her brought a small smile to her face, earlier today the rosette had offered to go grab some lunch with her at a restaurant near the training grounds. Tayuya had declined her offer, stating she was going to see if she could pick up a solo mission in town.

That had been a lie, of course. Instead she had remained within her apartment, the shades closed and the door locked.

_"She probably doesn't even have the slightest suspicion of me being a spy..."_ Tayuya thought, _"She's almost too nice to be a kunoichi...but she's good at putting her all into her work." _The kunoichi groaned as she fell back onto her futon, looking to the ceiling.

Not only was she being eaten away by her guilt, but now Sasuke was in jail, and likely going to be dealing with some long-term probation as a shinobi. This _would_ be the perfect opportunity for her to visit him and give him the offer that she was supposed to have given weeks and weeks ago, but...

She couldn't. Last night had finally opened her eyes to what Konoha really was. A place she wanted to belong to. Not just because of the independence she was given without Orochimaru's presence hanging over her shoulder, but also because of the people she had met. Not only Sakura and Kakashi, but Hinata, Ino, Naruto, Temari, and even now she was still meeting new people from her fellow kunoichi's squads. She liked the feeling of being _wanted_, not just seen as a tool.

_"Yet, at the same time, I've managed to keep my secret from them. What does that make me? A traitor? Am I still loyal to Oto?"_

She rolled onto her side and frowned as she looked at the framed picture on her nightstand. It was of her and Team Seven, not including Naruto, who had been gone looking for the Hokage at the time. Sasuke had the smallest shadow of a smile on his face while Kakashi had a single hand on the Uchiha's shoulder, his trademark eye smile present. Sakura had an arm around Tayuya's shoulders while flashing a peace sign, and Tayuya was smiling, mild discomfort on her face.

"Damn it...they softened me up..." She rubbed her eyes, and sat up.

These shinobi weren't just people to her. No, they had become the closest thing she had ever had to a family. She hated the feeling of hiding this horrid truth from them. The fact that she was a supposed to be their enemy made her feel...awful...

She picked up the picture, and held it to her chest for a moment, quietly shedding a few tears. She hated feeling like this; vulnerable, weak, and hurt. She had always been Tayuya of the Sound Four. The tough girl who swore like a sailor, and didn't give a damn about anyone else but herself.

Why was it that she no longer wanted that lifestyle? She wanted to hang out with Sakura and the others, learn from Kakashi, take missions to help the people of Konoha, hell she didn't even mind painting fences all day in the blazing heat! She was with her friends and surrogate family!

Standing up and setting the picture on her nightstand once more, she walked out of her sparse room and to her kitchen. She grabbed a glass of water and chugged it down, then took another. She held the glass in her hands and looked at her reflection within it's crystal surface.

What had once been somewhat nappy, long, tangled hair had become smooth, and shining. She momentarily released her henge she had been holding for ages, and smiled as she looked at her naturally red hair. She had it tied in a ponytail about half-way down its length, and let it hang loosely from there.

She had long discarded her Otogakure attire, and was now wearing a deep, blue colored shirt with short sleeves over a mesh shirt. She also wore dull brown colored shorts that went to where her knees met her shins, and wore sandals as a finishing touch.

Looking at the final detail that had changed with her brought an even larger smile to her face; the leaf hitai-ate on her left bicep. She ran a hand over the engraving before her hands dropped to her sides, glass still in hands.

Who was she kidding? She wasn't a real shinobi of Hidden Leaf. She was a liar, and a damn good one at that. She was even starting to convince herself that she was worthy of that title. Part of her wished that she could honestly believe that she was a kunoichi of Konoha, but then she remembered that she wasn't honest and loyal to the village.

What if she told Kakashi? Or Sakura? Would they still accept her? Would the defend her when she was brought before the ANBU for interrogation?

Not likely, despite how kind they were, if they found out she was a traitor...

Her hands trembled before she let out a scream and chucked the glass at the wall, causing it to shatter from the sheer force she had used. She blinked in surprise before letting her shoulders sag.

_"Still...letting them know would be better than returning to Orochimaru _now_."_ She argued, _"I suppose...if I die, at least I'll die knowing that I died with some moments of happiness in my life, even if they were false ones."_

Balling her fists up, she headed towards the door leading outside. Opening it, she took in a deep breath before shutting and locking the door behind her. She knew who to tell first. The man who had almost made her confess...

"I just hope he's not at the Memorial Stone. I'd hate to interrupt him with this bombshell..."

Five minutes later found the kunoichi before her sensei's apartment door. She took in a deep breath, and with a trembling hand, knocked on his door. She could feel her shinobi senses picking up the obvious presence of her sensei beyond the door. He must have been resting, considering that he may have answered the door before she knocked if he had been awake. Not much slipped past Kakashi of the Sharingan.

The door opened, and Tayuya had to restrain herself from blushing. Kakashi was in some shorts, and wearing no shirt. However, his mask was still on, which she found herself unsurprised by. Still, despite her best efforts, her eyes couldn't help but trail down his abs for a moment before Kakashi cleared his throat, "Tayuya?"

"A-ah...sorry, Kakashi-sensei...I...I need to talk to you."

Kakashi rubbed his hair and gave a yawn, "Can it wait until morning? I've been needing to get sleep for a few days now."

Tayuya looked down to the ground, "It's important..."

Kakashi sensed the urgency in her voice, "Just give me a minute to get some clothes on."

Kakashi had his student wait in his living room while he changed into a shirt and pants. He then walked back out to see Tayuya staring out the window, "So, what's this about, Tayuya?"

"Kakashi-sensei...before I say anything else, I-I want you to know that I have truly come to love Konoha. The people here are great, especially you and Sakura. I...I just want you to know that before I go on."

The Jounin's eyebrow rose, but he trained a smile on onto his masked face, "Glad to hear that. So, what's the problem, then?"

"Kakashi-sensei...I'm not..."

The Jounin waited patiently. After several moments passed, he spoke, "You're not what?"

He noticed the sudden appearance of moisture in the corner of both of Tayuya's eyes. She took in a shuddering breath, and spoke, "I-I'm...not a f-former kunoichi...of Kirigakure..." She looked up to the seasoned Jounin, "I...I served under Oro-rochimaru of Otogakure until recently."

Kakashi instinctively reached for a kunai hidden under the cushion of his chair he was sitting in. Tayuya didn't make any move to avoid him, so he stopped whatever he had planned on doing, and studied her features. His eyes narrowed a bit, "I had suspected something like this. So, you're a spy then?"

Tayuya nodded, "Yes. Well, I was _supposed_ to be a spy, but I ended up messing that up horribly."

"How so? I haven't heard anything about this until just now. Who else knows?"

"No one, as far as I can say at least." Tayuya answered, "You're the first person I've told. I felt that if I was going to tell anyone, I may as well tell one of the few people I would trust enough to tell this to."

Letting out another sigh, Kakashi looked to the redhead, then it caught his attention, "Huh...your hair color is different."

"Yeah, I'm actually a redhead. That and my eyes are actually brown. The hair color I had under henge was so subtly different from my own natural hair color though that it's not noticeable right away." She shook her head, "Anyway...I was sent here by Orochimaru to bring Sasuke to him."

"What?" Kakashi asked, "So Sasuke's still being targeted by that bastard then."

"Correct. I..." She felt her hands ball into fists as she went on, "I obtained information on the village's weak points as far as patrols, as well as a few other things that Orochimaru would have found useful. However..." She pulled out a single scroll slowly from a pocket in her pants, "I never sent him a single bit of information. Every time I had a chance...I just couldn't find myself able to."

Kakashi took the scroll from the slightly trembling hands of Tayuya, "Is this all that information?"

"Yes." She bit her lower lip, "Now that I've forfeited over my last source of safety from being killed by Otogakure, I'm as good as dead in Rice Country. The fact that I've given away my true identity and the fact that Sasuke Uchiha is a target only further insures that." Her brown eyes looked up to Kakashi's single onyx colored eye, "Kakashi-sensei, I'm hereby handing myself over to Konohagakure for whatever punishment will be dealt to me."

"Tayuya..." Kakashi spoke, still surprised by her calm behavior, "...what made you change your mind? You mean just living in Hidden Leaf all this time made you decide to betray Oto?"

Tayuya gave a ghost of a smile to her instructor, "Like I said; Konoha's been more of a home to me than what Orochimaru had offered me for all those years while I served him." She tried to maintain herself as she continued, "I have no idea what penalty would await a spy who turned themselves over to another village...but..." the kunoichi let out a shaky breath, "...I'll face it without argument. This is war, after all. A spy can change the tide of a struggle."

Kakashi gave a grunt of understanding, and looked to the scroll before unsealing it. Several letters revealed themselves within the seal, and after opening them and briefly scanning over the contents, Kakashi's eyes widened, "T-this is a list of some of our Jounin and higher-ranked shinobi. How did you obtain this?"

"The patrols are pretty predictable after watching them for two hours. I managed to sneak in while there was a change in shift. The rest was simply going through the ANBU headquarters while under the henge of one of the ANBU outside of the building. I procured the information from there relatively quickly."

"I see..." Kakashi set the letters on the scroll and began to run through the seals to burn the paper, but stopped just a second before releasing the Katon technique, "Tayuya...hold on. The fact that you _willingly_ turned yourself in, not to mention you gave up all the information you've had on you against Konoha is enough for me." He stood up, "I'm going to bring you to the Godaime, and explain the situation."

"I understand." Tayuya stood up slowly, "She should be the one to decide what will be done with me anyway."

"I'm going to see to it that you're not imprisoned."

"If that's what...wait, what?" Tayuya asked, "K-Kakashi-sensei...I've been betraying your trust all this time! Not just you, but Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Temari, and-"

Kakashi raised a hand, "I don't think that's _entirely_ true. Would I be safe to assume that you've been yourself most of the time that you've been here? That tough girl act isn't just for show, is it?"

"Tough girl act?" Tayuya repeated, frowning, "I have no idea what you're-"

"I rest my case." He placed a firm, yet reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Tayuya...what you've done just now is proof to me that you're not against Konoha. In fact...if anything, I think that this proves your loyalty only more so to me."

"I...I was going to betray you! Don't you get that? Sasuke is supposed to be heading to Orochimaru with me! I had-"

"That's enough, Tayuya." Kakashi stated, his voice a bit more stern, "The fact remains that you did _not_ try to get Sasuke to go with you to Oto, and not only that, but you tried to live a normal life here...aside from the spying part."

Tayuya was silent after that. Her shoulders trembled a bit, and she spoke just above a whisper, "I thought shinobi weren't supposed to take risks like this. What if I still plan on betraying you...?"

"I'm going to bet against that happening. After all..." He smiled a bit, "I think you're already a strong carrier of the Will of Fire. Those who carry it don't go against those that share that bond."

She couldn't handle it any longer. She let out a sob, then another. She sunk to the ground, tears pouring from her eyes as she cursed herself, Kakashi, and anything else that came to mind. Kakashi let her cry for a moment before she managed to speak, "I'm sorry."

"I know." Kakashi answered, "Now come on. The sooner we let Tsunade-sama know, the better this will be for all of us. That incident a few days back in the confinement building is likely linked to this."

Gathering up the information she had given him, Kakashi put on his Jounin vest and looked to her, "I cannot guarantee it, but if you can promise to not try and run from me while we head to the Hokage Tower, and cooperate with me, you'll stand a better chance of having nothing extremely bad happen to you. Tsunade-sama's still fairly new to the job, so I'm sure that the Sandaime will be willing to offer a voice in this predicament."

Tayuya gave a curt nod before following the Jounin. She didn't make any gestures of disagreement, nor did she look like she was planning on making a break for it. She simply walked by his side as the headed down the street.

_"Konoha...how can such a strong village have such kind shinobi at the same time?"_

2222222222

Naruto was walking down the damp and dreary sewer that was his inner world where the Kyuubi lay sealed within. He had been meaning to go here for quite some time now, if anything to simply figure out if he could learn to understand his seal better without damaging it at all. After all, if there were people after the fox, he would only do well to learn how to control the bijuu within the seal.

Eventually Naruto stood before the giant metal bars that held the fox within them while the tiny seal held it all in place. There was a sound of deep breathing from behind the bars, and two slitted eyes of blood red opened, **"So, the whelp returns."**

"Not in the mood, fox." Naruto replied tersely, "This isn't a social call; I'm just here to study the seal."

** "Hmph. I doubt you'd be able to understand it, of all people, considering your heritage."**

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Kyuubi closed its eyes for a moment, though Naruto could still see the vaporous chakra surrounding it's muzzle and whiskered face, **"Nothing. Why am I even bothering to waste my time talking to such a pathetic excuse of a shinobi? If it wasn't for my power, you would have died long before now."**

"Yeah, and I'm _eternally thankful_ for all that you've given me, bastard fox." the blond commented, his voice laced with sarcasm, "Now shut up so I can study the seal." He then sat on his knees and looked at the seal while mumbling to himself. It wasn't until several minutes passed when the Kyuubi broke the silence.

**"...it annoys me how much you take after that woman."**

Naruto stopped his train of thought, and looked up to the gigantic fox with a stern gaze, "_What_ woman?"

The fox instead chose to recede back into the depths of its prison, leaving Naruto to growl in frustration, "Hey! Kyuubi! I asked you a question! Hey!" Naruto got up and stormed over to the bars and banged on them, "Don't you go and ignore me, you bastard fox! I asked you what woman you're talking abou-"

**"ENOUGH!"** Kyuubi roared, and Naruto was pushed back by a blast of chakra that made him feel weak in the knees suddenly, **"I will not stand for a human barely in their prime to go and interrogate **_**me**_** of all beings! Either you keep that seemingly bottomless pit of a mouth of yours closed or I will reach through these bars and spill your innards onto this floor, then free myself from the seal and destroy every single human in the village!"**

Naruto stood there defiantly, a cold gaze meeting the bloodshot eyes of the Kyuubi, "Answer my question and I'll drop any further discussion on the matter."

The Kyuubi growled, its mouth opening to reveal its glistening white teeth. It's glare seemed to cause the temperature to rise slightly as it walked closer to the cage, **"Kushina."**

Naruto's eyes widened a little. Kushina? That was his mother's name! He opened his mouth, but saw the Kyuubi's eyes baring down on him. Naruto wasn't about to go and annoy his tenant further, even if he was dying to know, "Kushina? My mother?"

**"Yes. Your **_**mother**_**."**

The blond bit his lip as he gave a nod, "Alright, I guess that makes sense, though I don't know _how_ you know about her."

The Kyuubi let out a chuckle, **"You'd be surprised how much I know of your heritage, **_**Uzumaki**_**."**

2222222222

Naruto opened his eyes suddenly, and noted the sun peeking through the blinds of his window. He rubbed his eyes a bit and groaned.

_"How the hell does the fox know about my mom? What did he mean with that last bit about knowing about my heritage?"_ He sat up and yawned, "Crap, that fox is more annoying than Iruka-sensei during his history lectures."

Naruto's musings were cut off as the sound of the door opening was heard, followed by several voices, "Sakura-san, I realize you've taken an apprenticeship with the Godaime, but Uzumaki-san isn't ready to-"

Sakura came into his room, ignoring the two distraught nurses. Naruto gave a grin to his teammate, "Hey, Sakura-chan. What's up?"

Sakura had a serious look about her, and Naruto's cheerful smile vanished instantly. She looked down for a moment before speaking, "Sasuke's gone."

Naruto let the words toss around in his head for a moment before he decided to speak, "W-wait...what do you mean 'gone'?"

Sakura shook her head, "He's left the village. We suspect it was to go to Orochimaru, but..."

"Why the hell would Sasuke go to that creep?" Naruto bolted upright, "He's not going to seriously take on that freak's offer, is he?"

The kunoichi could only nod.

"I don't believe this! Where's my gear, I'm going after that-"

"Ah, Uzumaki-san, you're not ready to leave though. You need to have-"

Sakura held up a scroll, "This is an official order from the Godaime herself to relieve Naruto from bed rest. He's been ready to leave for almost a day now, and he's going to want to leave either way."

The older of the two nurses looked at the document before sighing, "I understand. Uzumaki-san, your clothes are in the closet over on the opposite side of the room. Please do take care of yourself; you suffered a grave injury, and it'd be horrible for something bad to happen to you again so soon."

Sakura waited outside the room while Naruto changed and got his gear on. Once he was dressed, the two headed to the Hokage Tower, leaping from the rooftops to cover more ground.

"When did he leave?"

"The guards assume sometime between eleven thirty last night and one in the morning. They saw him last night sleeping, then when they made their rounds early this morning, he was gone."

"Are they sure he's going to Orochimaru?"

Sakura gave a nod, "Our sources say that he's almost definitely heading to that snake. Seeing as it's almost six in the morning right now, we've probably got small cushion of time to catch up with him and the Oto-nin escorts."

"Again, how are you sure of this?"

The rosette gave a sigh before continuing, "It turns out that...Tayuya was actually a spy for Orochimaru. It's a long story, but she apparently had never gave any information to Otogakure, and is therefore considered a traitor to Hidden Sound."

"Why did she go and betray Orochimaru?" Naruto questioned, though he could think of several reasons of the top of his head.

"She came to like Konoha. That and...well, I guess she felt like she was at home here." the kunoichi frowned a little, "She's really beating herself up over it, but she has told us everything and anything she knows about Otogakure and Orochimaru. Tsunade-sama has more or less given her complete amnesty, considering she never did anything to put Konoha's safety in danger to begin with."

Naruto was frowning now, "Why was she spying on Konoha, though we're at war, so I guess it makes sense."

"She was supposed to try and convince Sasuke to leave with her to Otogakure. She never did that though, and instead tried to live an honest life in Konoha as a Chuunin of Team Seven."

"You sure she's not just lying?" Naruto inquired, "I mean...she _was_ a spy."

"Normally I'd think the same thing, but the fact is that she believes the reason why Sasuke left is because the other members of her group from Oto have decided to take matters into their own hands. She believes that her life is more or less forfeit in Rice Country."

For several long moments, the two said nothing to each other. Naruto was still processing all that he had just learned, and Sakura was still getting over the fact that one of her good friends had left Konoha while another turned out to be a supposed spy of the enemy who had never fulfilled her duties.

"We'll get Sasuke back."

Sakura managed to smile a bit, "I know."

"He's probably losing it with that Curse Mark he's got. It's probably messing with his head right now." Naruto spoke, though his voice had a hint of doubt in it, "I mean, Sasuke's too stubborn to go and offer help from a guy like that, right?"

"Naruto! Sakura!"

The two looked ahead to see Team Eight heading towards them, Kiba leading the group, "So, you heard too?"

"Yes. Sasuke's apparently gone and left for Otogakure." Sakura said, "I actually got more details, but I think those can wait until we get to the Hokage Tower. Were you summoned there as well?"

"Yeah, Kurenai-sensei had Hinata send for me and Shino. We're not the only ones though; I guess Team Ten, Neji, Tenten, Lee, know as well."

"Yeah, I guess Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara know as well. They were actually the ones who I went to inform first, then I went and got Naruto from the hospital." Sakura added, "This is bad. If Sasuke goes to Orochimaru, who knows what will happen to him."

"I've heard a few things about Sasuke that happened during the exams from Kurenai-sensei. She said that it was left classified unless such an event occurred like this." He turned to Sakura for a moment, "Is it true about the mark?"

The kunoichi nodded in response.

"That's horrible." Hinata began, "I don't know how such a person like Orochimaru can do such things like that. Sasuke probably was in pain all that time that we were talking to him."

"That's not true." Naruto started, "I think that Sasuke's also responsible for all that's happened involving Orochimaru and this incident."

"Naruto." Sakura started, "I know the mark had some-"

"Not the mark exclusively, Sakura. The seal that was placed on it is what I'm talking about." The whisker marked shinobi put up three fingers, "First off, the seal was made to suppress the effects of that damn mark. Anko-sensei is a prime example of that seal working!" He ticked off a finger, "Second of all, the person's will to resist using the mark is what determines its strength ultimately defines the Evil Sealing Method's power." He ticked off another finger, "Lastly, even if he did choose to continue using the Curse Mark, that alone won't affect his decision to go to Orochimaru." He ticked off the third finger and looked ahead, "I guess I was trying to deny it, but Sasuke did this all by pure choice."

Kiba gave a grunt of annoyance, "Damn it, just when I thought he wasn't all that big of a prick he goes and pulls a stunt like this."

"Kiba!" Hinata gasped, "There's no need for that."

"No, he's right, Hinata." Sakura spoke, "Sasuke did this and betrayed us by doing so...let's just hope we can convince him that he's just making a huge mistake."

"I don't like to say this either, but he also is the only holder of the Sharingan that's still loyal to Konoha." Shino pointed out, "Regardless of what else may be true or false, being a holder of a powerful kekkai genkai makes retrieving him necessary for Konoha's safety. If someone were to procure those eyes from him, or if he turned against us...

The other four gave not audible reply, though the whining from Akamaru gave a clear understanding of how they all felt. Looking towards the Hokage Tower, the five young shinobi steeled themselves. They were certain that them being called to the Hokage's office following such an emergency wasn't sheer coincidence.

2222222222

"Tayuya, is there anything else you can tell us about the group that likely helped break Sasuke out of prison?"

The redhead looked to the scarred shinobi, and shook her head, "That's...pretty much all I can remember about them, Ibiki-san."

Ibiki, head of ANBU Torture and Interrogation, gave a somber look the to kunoichi, "I see." He stood up from the small table they sat at. He looked to Kakashi, who was leaning against the wall near the doorway leading out, "Well, Kakashi, she's telling the truth as far as I can tell. She didn't resist when I looked into her mind, and she didn't seem to be holding any information that she hasn't already told us about regarding Sasuke Uchiha and Orochimaru."

Kakashi had a grim expression on his face, but it wasn't directed towards Tayuya, "I _told_ you that looking into her mind wasn't necessary." He walked over to Tayuya, who was facing to the ground, "I trust you didn't step into anything personal?"

Ibiki frowned, "I'm a professional, Hatake. I wouldn't go into anyone's personal thoughts unless I was instructed to, and even then the reasons would have to be pertinent to the interrogation. Rest assured, I was not looking into anything personal."

Resting his eyes upon the kunoichi, he nodded, "Good. She's put herself in a very dangerous situation by doing this, and the breaking out of Sasuke from prison only confirms she's telling the truth. It's just a shame that we weren't able to get to that information sooner."

"That's partially to blame on the short-handedness we've had with shinobi lately. The war's forced a lot of us to go out of the village to the various outposts we have." Ibiki stated, "I'm just glad we weren't caught completely off guard with this incident." He turned to Tayuya, "Thanks for all of your cooperation, Tayuya. While the fact you were a spy of Orochimaru is true, the fact remains that you have been protecting Konoha this whole time by not revealing anything to that snake."

"I just didn't want anything like this to happen." Tayuya stated calmly, "I'm sorry I didn't deliver this sooner."

"Well," Kakashi began, "We can worry about the consequences later, but Tsunade-sama stated that she wants you to go with the group to find Sasuke. Your knowledge of the enemy will be invaluable, and while your loyalty officially lies in question," He placed a hand on her head, "you unofficially are still a shinobi of Konoha in the Godaime's book, I believe."

There was a knock on the door, interrupting the conversation between the three. Ibiki looked to the door and spoke, "Yes?"

The door opened to reveal a ANBU kunoichi, "Ibiki-san, I'm sorry to interrupt, but the Hokage wishes for Tayuya-san and Kakashi to be in her office within the next five minutes."

"Understood, we were just finishing up anyway." Ibiki looked to Tayuya, "Well, I suppose that about wraps it up. I'll have to make a record of all this, but don't worry too much. I'll be doing what I can to make sure you're not grilled by the council if they decide to question you themselves, alright?"

"Thanks." Tayuya stood up beside Kakashi, "The last thing I need is a bunch of old codgers to go and-"

"Ah ah, watch what you say, Tayuya." Kakashi chided, "Let's not waste anymore time. Tsunade-sama awaits."

The two left the Interrogation chambers and headed down the road to the Hokage Tower. Within five minutes time they were at the Hokage's door. Kakashi knocked, and the voice of Tsunade could be heard on the other side, "Enter."

Kakashi and Tayuya entered the room, and were met with the faces of the Konoha Eleven and the three Suna siblings. While no one openly glared at her, she felt some tension in the room from the other young shinobi. However, she was happy to see Sakura offer a small smile and nod to her.

Tsunade looked to the two newcomers, "Ah, Tayuya and Kakashi. Glad you two finally made it. Kakashi, I unfortunately cannot say that there will be other Jounin involved with this mission, but you are at the moment one of the few available ones here that can help. Asuma's currently stationed by the northwestern border of Fire Country, and Kurenai's on another escort mission to help deliver some metal to a smith two days from here. Baki would likely have come along as well, but he's on a joint mission with a squad of Chuunin from Suna to the bridge where Wave meets Fire Country. Apparently they're thinking of establishing trade with the small country." She folded her hands and continued, "I'm afraid everyone you see here right now is what we have available."

Kakashi didn't want to voice objection, but he truly felt that this wasn't the most experienced group to catch a rogue-nin, "What about the ANBU? Isn't tracking down a missing-nin their specialty?"

"We're trying to avoid giving Sasuke that label if we can, Kakashi-sensei." spoke Ino, "This mission will be our one attempt to see if there's some way we can convince him to come back without putting that mark on his status."

"Hm...very well. So, what is the plan?"

Tsunade pointed to the left where Naruto, Tenten, Shikamaru, Neji, and Kankuro were standing, "The five of them right here make up Retrieval Team Alpha. They are to be the first group to lead. Seeing as Naruto and Neji are both close combat specialists, and Tenten's a weapon's expert, they balance each other out well. Shikamaru's a great tactician, and Kankuro's puppeteer skills will be a great asset in backing up the others. Their team leader will be Shikamaru, of course."

"I still think it would be better for me to hang back." Shikamaru stated, "I'm not the best when it comes to fighting."

"Put a sock in it, Nara." Tsunade stated before continuing, "Team Delta consists of Sakura, Chouji, Lee, Ino, and Shino. Sakura's a medic in training, and while an experienced medic-nin would be more suitable, it's all I can spare at the moment. Chouji and Lee are also good hand to hand fighters, and Ino's got her mind control techniques at her disposal. Shino's insects will help with detecting any enemies that are approaching or nearby. Sakura, I'm entrusting the group under your command."

"Tsunade-shishou...are you sure?" Sakura stated, "I mean, I have no real objection but-"

"You'll be fine, Forehead. You're the Chuunin in our group, after all. It only makes sense." Ino grinned, "Now pipe down so we can get this over with."

Tsunade smirked a little at the two kunoichi, then went on, "Lastly, we have Team Sigma. They'll be taking rear. Temari, you'll be the leader of the group, as you already know."

"Understood, Hokage-sama." Temari replied with a curt nod.

"Along with her will be Gaara, Kiba, Hinata, and Tayuya. Gaara, as I'm sure you're aware, your sand will be needed for offensive and defensive strategies. Kiba, being an Inuzuka, you and Akamaru will definitely be the head-on attackers of your team, and Hinata, you may not have as much experience in medicine as Sakura, but you've got a little background in first aid, which is better than nothing..." Tsunade looked to Tayuya and the two locked gazes for a brief moment, one serious while the other feeling vulnerable, "Tayuya, please don't think that I'm holding a guillotine over your neck. I got the initial reports from ANBU, and if you're in the shape you are after Ibiki was done with you, then I believe that I have nothing to be suspicious of. Your skills in Genjutsu and the knowledge of the others will be one of the most valuable bits of information we can hold against the enemy. Stay with your team, and if you run into any other teams combating the enemy, do what you can to help turn the odds in our favor."

Tayuya stood straighter after being addressed, "Of course, Tsunade-sama."

"Kakashi," Tsunade turned to the Jounin, "You'll be the captain of the three groups. I'd rather not do this, but you'll be hanging back a little to make sure that you won't miss anything that happens. You're to remain hidden until the situation calls for your presence. Do everything in your power to make sure that we don't suffer any losses."

"I will do what I can." Kakashi replied with a bow.

"I would expect nothing less." Tsunade turned around in her chair so that she was facing towards the large open window leading to her balcony overlooking the village, "I was hoping to avoid such incidents within my first month as Hokage, but it can't be helped I suppose. You all will be leaving within fifteen minutes' time. Inform your families, pack only what you can carry, and head out. I'll send reinforcements as soon as any become available." She went silent, though none of the others could see her face, "Please be careful. All of you. You're a beacon of hope for our village with this war hanging over our head. I know you've heard how dangerous things will be with this war probably over a hundred times, but I'm serious. Any bit of good that can be found in these uncertain times is a godsend." She stood up from her chair and looked to the Konoha Twelve minus Sasuke, the sand siblings, and Kakashi, and then back to the window, "May the Will of Fire guide you all. Dismissed!"

The young Genin and Chuunin all gave a quick bow and left the room, all except Kakashi, Gaara, and Naruto. The Jounin looked to Tsunade for a moment and then to Naruto, "Tsunade-sama...I hate to ask this, but...if things get a bit dangerous out there..."

Tsunade turned to look at the Jounin and gave a quick nod, "If necessary, use lethal force, Kakashi." She made eye contact with Naruto and Gaara, "Something wrong?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but closed it. He understood the circumstances, even if he wasn't favoring them, "Nothing, Baa-chan. Just wanted to ask if you could let Ero-Sennin know that I'm ready for more training whenever I'm done getting Sasuke back."

"Tell him the same for me as well." Gaara added.

Tsunade smiled, "Sure thing, boys. Go bring Sasuke home."

"Roger!" Naruto saluted before dashing out the door with Gaara walking out at a casual pace.

"Those two..." Kakashi began, "You know, I think with Jiraiya teaching them, they stand to become the living legends of their generation."

"Agreed." Tsunade smirked, "They have the potential to bring others to see their views, especially Naruto."

Kakashi looked to the doorway where Naruto and Gaara had left, "I hope that proves to be true with Sasuke." With that, the Jounin made a quick hand seal and disappeared in a whirl of leaves. Tsunade turned back to the window for the umpteenth time and stared out at the Hokage Faces.

"That went particularly well, Tsunade."

Tsunade looked to the doorway once more to see none other than Sarutobi, "Sensei...I didn't know you were here."

"That's good. I had not intended for anyone to know I was." He lit his pipe and took a drag, "Tsunade, I hate to add on to your burdens, but there's a piece of information that is necessary for you to be aware of, seeing as you're the new Hokage. Are you available to lend your old sensei and predecessor your ear?"

Tsunade groaned while slumping into her chair, "Sure, why not? Not like I'm losing my sanity yet, right?" She dug into her drawer and pulled out a small bottle of sake she had recently purchased. Sarutobi raised a single eyebrow while taking a seat in the chair she offered him.

"My, already indulging in bad habits and not even a year into serving as Hokage?"

"Oh can it. Jiraiya's got loads of stuff he could tell me about you." Tsunade retorted as she took a quick swig before corking the bottle and stuffing it back into her drawer, "Okay, what's this you wanted to talk to me about?"

Sarutobi gave a slow nod and with a quick wave of his hand shut the door and ran through a few seals. Tsunade felt the ever so slight ripple of chakra running through the room, "A muting seal?" She frowned, "Damn, this must be serious. How top-secret is this?"

"Very. S-ranked, almost as classified as Naruto's status and background."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up, "Go on."

"Tsunade, you're aware of the incident that occurred about eight to nine years ago with the Uchiha clan, correct?"

Tsunade gave a snort, "The Uchiha Massacre? Of course; it was considered one of the most shocking events to occur in Konoha within the past decade, minus the Kyuubi attacking the village."

"Indeed. How much of it do you know?"

Tsunade let out a sigh, "Let's see...Sasuke's the sole survivor of his clan, not including Itachi, who was the one who wiped out the Uchiha...it's unknown why exactly he killed his entire clan and spared Sasuke, and...well...Itachi was probably around Sasuke's age when he did all of that."

"Well said, Tsunade. You're well informed compared to others. You even encountered Itachi in your travels with Jiraiya and the boys, did you not?"

"Yes, but only briefly. He seemed to be keen on leaving when we arrived. Shizune stated that Naruto was in bad shape, but held up fairly well compared to what could have happened, she believed." The Godaime folded her hands in front of her, "What's all this about, sensei?"

Sarutobi blew out a small plume of smoke before speaking, his eyes looking off into space, "The Uchiha Massacre was, in essence, was planned by the Konoha Council. Itachi had been following orders."

Tsunade went pale, and her eyes narrowed. She slowly unfolded her hands, and looked to the old man to see if he was by any chance showing signs of lying. Was this a test?

He didn't smile, nor did he frown. He simply looked towards the ceiling and made no eye contact, "Sarutobi-sensei, are you trying to test me at all? Is this some sort of joke?"

"No, Tsunade, as much as I wish it was, I'm being truthful with you."

She blinked several times before digging into her drawer a second time and pulled out her bottle along with a glass this time, "Alright, start from the beginning. I have a feeling I'm going to be having a migraine after all this is over..."

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Kimimaro stood beside a large container that had several tags lining it's lid. Sakon was leaning against a tree while Jirobou was eating some rice balls he had packed away. Kidomaru was standing on the limb of a tree, taking up watch.

"We should really start carrying him. It's not like Uchiha's going to be leaving the container anytime soon. The process takes time, after all."

Kimimaro for once gave a nod of agreement, "Good point, Sakon. Seeing as we made no attempt to hide our trail when leaving Konoha, we would be right to get moving." He turned to Jirobou, "Carry the container. The sooner we get back to Orochimaru-sama, the better."

"Fine..." Jirobou grumbled, and hefted the container onto his back while tying the straps lining the barrel so that he had it on like a pack, "Alright, I'm ready."

Kidomaru, meanwhile, was looking off into the forest towards Konoha every so often with binoculars, "Looks like we're still in the clear, though for how long I'm not sure."

"Hey, Kimimaro, what about Tayuya? We never ran into her, and we couldn't locate her while we were in the village." Sakon began as the jumped through the trees, "Do you think she's gone and snitched on us?"

"There's always the possibility, though it makes no difference. She's weak, and one way or another she will be dealt with by Orochimaru-sama. He's not known for leaving loose ends connected for long."

The four went silent, the only sound being the occasional foot landing on a tree branch as they darted through the forest. All the while Sasuke lay within the container, his Curse Mark slowly advancing to the next level. He would gain more power from this, and as such, had willingly gone along with the idea.

Not too far from them was the three teams of Genin and Chuunin, and one Jounin. They had just left the gates of the village, and were now booking it through the woods.

Needless to say, with the time they had spent beginning the Curse Mark advancing process, and the determination to bring back Sasuke fueling the three teams to run through the thick forest faster than normal for a shinobi, a fight was inevitable. Not only that, but to make matters worse for the Konoha ninja, several teams of Oto-nin were making their way towards the Sound Four as well. Who would be victorious in the end? Only time would tell.

**End of Chapter Twenty-two: So begins the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, with a bit of a twist! This time...Konoha's bringing the big (young) guns! Anyway, let me address a few questions that I've noticed.**

**First off, yes, there will be training with Naruto and Jiraiya for an extended period of time, and YES, I plan on Gaara going along. Who's going to be running Suna with Gaara not taking up the Kazekage's position? That, I won't be revealing quite yet. Rest assured, I have it planned out.**

**Secondly, what's with Sasuke's sudden change and ditching Konoha, you ask? I have an explanation, but for now, I'll just say Sasuke's kind of having a relapse of bad habits, I suppose. Also, it's important to realize that since his brother had killed his family, he'd become a little traumatized. Old wounds have a bad habit of only healing skin deep sometimes. Don't fret too much though; this somewhat friendly Sasuke that you've seen in Existence so far isn't dead...just...not around at the moment. The Curse Mark did screw with his mind a bit, and with recent incidents involving Naruto and Itachi, he's kind of taking a downwards spiral. **

**Also, I know the NarutoxTemari action's been a bit lacking lately, and I realize that. I can understand the frustration some of you may have been experiencing over that, but don't think I'm not forgetting about those two. I mean, yes, fluff is nice, but keep in mind that Temari's a kunoichi, and a proud one at that. She cares for Naruto, and Naruto cares for her, but they're both shinobi, and have to keep that in mind. Training is a major priority, and missions can't just be put aside for personal time. That's part of the reason why I believe so many of the younger shinobi in the series are single; they're focusing on their duties as shinobi.**

**Lastly, I know I'm still walking the canon path to a noticeable degree, but the little things are going to build up to big things soon as far as differentiation goes. The Valley of the End was more or less the climax for the first part of Naruto. VotE will be the turning point for Existence too, though it may not appear evident right away. The Fourth Shinobi war in this series is vastly different from the one in the canon series, and it's started three years earlier to boot. Give it time, that's all I ask.**

**Alright, rambling aside, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading, and keep an eye open for the next chapter. It'll be a blast...or something akin to a blast, at least!  
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Oh, and last but not least, a big thank you to Paradox Jast for looking over this chapter!**


	23. Wayward Uchiha Part One

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm sure somewhere in some alternate universe, there are ninja writing slice of life fanfics about all of us...yeah, don't know where I was going with that one. Just read and enjoy!**

**Chapter 23: Wayward Uchiha- Part One**

"Naruto, anything yet?"

The blond looked back to Shikamaru, a grim frown marring his features, "No, as far as my clones can tell, there's next to no traces of those Sound ninja. If it wasn't for the occasional snapped branch on the trees, I'd say we're on a wild goose chase."

The Nara sighed, "Right. Keep an eye out for them. Neji?"

The Hyuuga gave a quick nod before activating his bloodline. Veins bulged around his eyes, and he looked ahead, "It's hard to tell...but...wait, stop!"

Shikamaru, Tenten, Naruto, Kankuro, and Neji all stopped. Seconds later, the three other teams of young shinobi following them halted behind them. Kakashi appeared by Neji's side, "What's up, Neji?"

Neji's eyes narrowed a bit as his veins grew a little bigger, "Hinata...can you confirm something for me? Look ahead and tell me what you see."

"Um...I-I can try." Hinata activated her bloodline as well, and both Byakugan users faced towards the trees ahead. She scanned the area, and let out a gasp, "Th-the trees ahead are lined with tripwire and explosives! We're probably no more than twenty yards from the traps."

Kakashi cursed, "They know we're after them already?" He crouched down a bit, "Can you verify what kind of explosive class they are?"

Neji shook his head, and Hinata took only a moment longer before giving a negative response as well. Sighing, the Jounin looked to Tenten and Shikamaru, "You two are pretty familiar with explosive tags, correct?"

"Definitely." Tenten replied, "You want me to deactivate them?"

"As much of a pain it is for us to be delayed, I can only assume that Tsunade-sama will be sending ANBU reinforcements when they're finally available. If we can deactivate the traps now, it'll save time for our backup when it arrives."

Shikamaru cracked his neck before looking to Neji, "Where are the closest ones?"

Neji and Hinata guided the two towards the first line of explosive tags. Tenten let out a low whistle when she got a good look at the tags, "B-class explosive tags. One step under sabotage and field explosive grade tags. They're not messing around." She pulled out a a kunai, "The major flaw with these tags is that they can be deactivated relatively quickly, and with little difficulty." She stabbed an explosive tag near the top, and the thin piece of paper peeled off the tree bark.

"Huh...you would have expected they'd use C-class tags on us." Shikamaru grumbled, "Much less of an explosion, but they're much harder to dispose of." The Nara did as Tenten did, and soon the large group of Chuunin, Genin and one Jounin had cleared the area, avoiding the tripwire and cutting the lines once all tags were disposed of.

"That's the last of them," Neji began, "If they've set up traps, I believe it's safe to assume that they're hoping we'll be held back for awhile. They're probably already suspecting that we've avoided the first trap, seeing as nothing went off."

"That's probably true, Neji." Kakashi agreed, "Alright, let's continue as we were. Keep a good twenty seconds worth of distance between your groups while we're moving through the forest here. We'll be closing in on the enemy soon, I can imagine, so they must be having trouble moving as fast as they'd like."

The young shinobi all gave a quick affirmative, then continued onward through the woods. They had just avoided their first obstacle to get back Sasuke. No doubt there were more dangerous things lying ahead for them.

As if on cue, Neji suddenly shouted in alarm, "Watch out!"

The other four on his team jumped to the side as a spray of shuriken and kunai hit the branches they would have landed on. The other teams noticed, and did the same.

"Damn, what now?" Kankuro growled, grabbing a hold of the cloth that kept Karasu strapped to his back, "What's the game plan?"

Shikamaru looked to Naruto, "Can you create a diversion?"

"Is the sky blue?"

"Just...do it, Naruto."

The blond smirked before letting out a few quick whistles. A second later, about a dozen of Naruto's clones leaped from the trees above the group. Steel whistled through the air from several directions, making quick work of the blond carbon copies.

"Well...? Shikamaru asked quietly, "Did you see where any had gone?"

Naruto's eyes were closed as he received the memories of his clones that had been destroyed. A second later he pointed in the direction to their left, "I think there's several in that direction. Not sure though, since one of the clones to my right was taken out too..."

Kiba leaped forward and spoke, "Akamaru and I are picking up several scents from the east. I think Naruto's right. There's probably eight shinobi total here...but they're being smart."

"It also doesn't appear like Sasuke is among the enemy." Neji noted, "These shinobi must be backup for Sasuke's group."

"We'll cover for you."

Naruto and the rest of Team Alpha looked back to see Gaara with his arms folded, and sand whipping around him slowly, "Gaara..."

"It's alright; we can handle this." Kiba grinned, "That is, as long as it's alright with our team's leader."

Temari looked to Teams Alpha and Delta. She then looked to Naruto before nodding in agreement, "Kiba's right; we can't be held back constantly while Sasuke's getting further away from us. We'll catch up with you shortly."

The members of Alpha and Delta both looked hesitant to leave, but they finally caved in.

"Right..." Sakura gave a nod, then looked up to the tree above them where Kakashi was hanging back, "Kakashi-sensei will help until you guys catch up with us."

The Jounin gave a silent nod in return.

"Alright..." Temari began, "When we say so, start running forward. Gaara will give you guys the proper cover with his sand, and we'll try and pick off the enemies while they're distracted. Don't wait up for us, alright?"

The three teams silently waited until the wind died down. Once the leaves stopped rustling, Temari whispered, "Go!" and they took off.

Naruto was leading his group, Shikamaru and Neji close behind while Tenten and Kankuro were in back. Team Delta was being headed by Lee and Sakura with Ino and Shino in the middle and Chouji holding the back.

They saw weapons falling down upon them, but before any steel could reach the ten shinobi, a giant sheet of sand flew over them. The shuriken and kunai harmlessly hit the granular shield before falling to the forest floor below.

"Gaara's sand can only go so far, so we better get moving fast!" Kankuro spoke. Shikamaru gave a nod of understanding and raised a hand and gave the signal for 'double time'. The others gave nods before dashing off ahead. Eventually Gaara's sand fell back slowly, returning to its master to help fight the Oto-nin. The two teams felt a sudden wind pick up, and Naruto smirked.

_"That's the way, Temari..."_

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"Damn it, I think that Uzumaki brat was among the kids that got away." grumbled an Oto-Chuunin, "Akira, what the hell was that? Sand?"

One of the Chuunin near shook his head, "I don't know. Kabuto-san didn't say anything about the stuff we'd be up against outside of what he briefed us on."

"Tch, figures. Why waste time explaining the enemies' abilities to the very people who are fighting?" The Chuunin shook his head, "Alright, get Mia and Juro over her. Something tells me we're not messing with rookies..."

"Actually, Kentaro, more than half of the shinobi we're against are supposedly part of that rookie class from Konoha..."

Kentaro, the supposed leader of one of the two teams trying to hold off the Konoha ninja, gave his younger teammate a flat look, "Just get Mia and Juro over-"

_Fwiish! Shluck!_

A kunai whizzed past Akira, hitting Kentaro in between the eyes. The Chuunin didn't even realize what had hit him as he fell like a sack of produce from the tree branch. Akira cursed under his breath before hiding behind a tree trunk, "Shit! Shit!"

A blur of color was caught in his peripherals, and he nearly lunged out before a female's voice reached his ears, "Akira, it's me!"

"M-Mia!" the Chuunin let out a breath, "Where's Juro?"

The masked kunoichi shook her head, "Some...wind jutsu hit him. It was...powerful. I think it was a Suna kunoichi."

"Suna?" Akira repeated, "Damn it! We weren't informed that there would be any support from Sunagakure!"

Mia shook her head, "We shouldn't have left home and joined Oto..."

Akira sighed, "Mia, now isn't the time! Losing focus means getting killed."

"I-I know, but...Juro-"

Akira growled in annoyance before pulling the kunoichi to the tree trunk, "Look! I'm pretty certain that we're dealing with about five...maybe six _kids_ right now! Genin, Chuunin at best! Now get a grip or you'll die."

Mia nodded slowly before pulling out a kunai, "Right."

The sound of feet landing on the branch beside them caused the two to turn around. A boy with a hooded jacket and strange markings on his cheeks was on all fours while a small white puppy was by his side, "So they did send more Oto-nin."

Mia charged forward while Akira went through several seals before shooting fire technique at Kiba. Kiba leaped into the air, avoiding the fire technique with little trouble. However, the Otogakure kunoichi was upon him in second. Kiba grabbed her by the wrist and forced her to drop her kunai as he twisted. She grunted in pain before kicking him in the gut, sending him back.

"Why are they sending kids to a mission like this?" Mia asked, half mocking and half angrily, "I thought Konoha was supposed to be be a powerful village of shinobi!"

"Tch, like they're going to waste good ninja on the likes of you guys." Kiba laughed, "Akamaru, let's do this!"

"Arf!"

The small puppy transformed into a perfect replica of Kiba, and the two dashed forward, faster this time. Mia was forced on the defense as the Inuzuka and his nin-hound swiped at her. She turned around in time to see Akira busy with a blond haired kunoichi wielding a strange fan.

Akira wasn't a Taijutsu specialist in any way. He had the basics, but relied heavily on long range attacks. Being a man with an affinity to fire jutsu, he preferred to burn his victims compared to stabbing them. Much cleaner, less of a mess for him to clean off himself.

This girl he was fighting appeared to be the Sunagakure girl that Mia had mentioned. She was fast, but like him, used Ninjutsu as her preferred method of attack.

"_**Fuuton: Reppuusho!**_"

Akira was knocked back as Temari blasted him with a wind jutsu. He got up quickly and rolled to the side as several kunai barely missed him. He ran through several seals and released a torrent of flames. Temari jumped back and released another blast of wind from her palms. The fire grew larger as a result, but what Akira hadn't expected was for her to direct the flames towards him with the wind technique.

"Gaaa-"

The Oto-nin was caught in the stream of flames, his cries drowned out by the crackling of the fire. Temari landed gracefully with her fan folded, "He shouldn't have relied so heavily on just Katon."

"Damn, remind me not to get on the bad side of you." Kiba commented, landing beside Temari, panting a bit, "That makes four, huh?" He looked back to the kunoichi, who's mouth was dribbling blood while her eyes were rolled into the back of her head, "This...is different from the fighting back in the village when Oto and Iwa attacked..."

"One on one fighting is always different from fighting team against team..." Temari added, "You alright?"

"Fine. How about you, Akamaru?"

The nin-hound gave a bark of assurance, and Kiba nodded, "Let's go see how Kakashi-sensei, Gaara, and Hinata are doing."

Meanwhile, Gaara was taking on three Oto-nin. Hinata was about fifty yards from him at the moment, fighting off one of the other shinobi by herself.

Gaara wasn't fighting alone, however.

"That's Gaara of the Desert. I'm sure of it." muttered one of the shinobi, a Jounin if his uniform was any indication, "Keep your distance, and whatever you do, avoid that sand of his."

"Don't need to tell me twice." grumbled one of the other Oto-nin, "How do we get past that sand, anyway?"

"You don't." Gaara replied.

"Tch, fine, if we can't attack you directly, we'll just melt your sand into glass!" the two shinobi ran through several seals before blasting flames from their mouths. Gaara didn't flinch as flames smashed into his dome of sand that he erected, and with a quick flick of his wrist, sent a tendril of sand around the flames to knock away the two ninja, "_**Suna Kanadzuchi**_!

The two hit the nearby trees hard, moaning as they slid onto the ground. A third Oto-nin was preparing a jutsu as well, "Tch, useless idiots..." He ran through several seals before his body began to glow with sparks, "_**Raiton: Jibashi**_!"

Gaara cursed under his breath before attempting to leap away. The surge of electrical power, however, was too fast, and struck him hard. He cried out in pain as he felt electricity run through him, causing his muscles to spasm uncontrollably.

"Ha! Where's your impenetrable sand now, you little whelp? Ahahaha-ack!"

The Oto-nin's throat spurt out blood as he fell to the ground, flopping while holding a hand to his fatal wound. Kakashi could be seen standing a foot behind him, kunai dripping crimson. He didn't spare the Oto-nin a second glance as he ran to the Ichibi Jinchuuriki, "Gaara!" He reached the red haired youth, who was slowly shaking his head and gaining his bearings.

"Un...Kakashi-san..." He looked up, "I...didn't foresee that ninja using Raiton. I'm not good at countering that jutsu type very well."

Kakashi checked over Gaara, namely the legs where the jutsu had made initial contact, as well as his arms and neck, "You sure you're alright?"

"I'll be fine. The jutsu didn't continue long enough to do too much damage."

Kakashi gave a nod, "Sorry I didn't arrive sooner. I was monitoring Kiba and your sister; they both took out three of their four targets easily after I took out the team leader. Seeing as these three are dead, Hinata must be dealing with the last one."

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi looked up to see Kiba and Temari jumping down from a tree branch to the ground. Temari noticed Gaara's clothing was singed in a few spots, and there was a flash of concern stirring within her eyes, "What happened?"

"A Raiton technique. He's fine, thankfully. Just some minor muscle paralysis, it seems." Kakashi replied while turning back to the sand user, "Can you move?"

"Not...quite..." Gaara was finding his arms and legs rather weak at the moment, tingling as he attempted to move his limbs, "I should be good shortly though. I'm somewhat of a fast healer..."

"I can understand." Kakashi nodded, "Kiba, go help Hinata with the last enemy."

Kiba gave a quick nod, "Roger."

The Jounin then looked to the Suna kunoichi, "Temari, go on ahead and meet up with the others. I'll send Pakkun with you.

Temari quirked an eyebrow, "Pakkun?"

Her confusion was soon met with an answer as she found herself staring quizzically at a small pug, "Yo."

Once more Temari had a look of confusion on her face, "A pug?"

"He's a great tracker, Temari. Trust me on this one." Kakashi explained, "Pakkun, can you get the scent of Sakura or Naruto? You probably recognize theirs, right?"

Pakkun sniffed the air, "Hold on...yep, there they are. Floral green shampoo and miso ramen." The little pug looked up to Temari, "Alright, come with me, girlie."

"Girlie?" Temari retorted, "I'm not a kid."

"Fine, whatever. Let's go before we get too far behind." He bounded off, Temari following behind.

"Right...hang tight for a few minutes and stay out of sight until you've recovered muscle control." Kakashi spoke, "I'm going to go make sure Hinata and Kiba are alright." With that, Kakashi jumped off into the canopy and towards the direction Kiba had gone.

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"Hyaah!"

The Oto-nin jumped back as Hinata's palm struck air, "Tch, figures that I'd be stuck with the Hyuuga girl." The shinobi was obviously an experienced fighter, "I'm a bit surprised that the elitist snobs would let the heir of the powerful Hyuuga clan go out and risk her life for just one shinobi."

Hinata breathed in and out, a bit tired from the continual Taijutsu match, "You...you don't know a thing about the bonds we have with Sasuke." She crouched low, "I-I may be a Hyuuga, but we're all friends...h-he's Sakura, Tayuya, and Naruto-kun's teammate. He means a lot to them, a-and therefore is important to me and the others as well." Her palms faced forward, assuming the Gentle Fist stance, "I...I will do what I m-must to help save that bond!"

"Heheh, cheeky little girl, aren't you?" He took out a small kodachi, "Whatever 'bonds' you're speaking of, they must not be strong if he willingly left to Otogakure."

The Hyuuga heiress said nothing in reply, but sprinted towards the Jounin. She stopped short of the blade he had in hand, spinning around to strike him in the ribs. He quickly blocked her palm strike with the flat end of his blade, and kicked her once in the gut. She gasped out in pain as she doubled over, coughing. Her ears could hear the sound of metal falling through the air, and she quickly rolled to the side as the enemy's kodachi dug into the dirt. She forced herself up, and resumed her stance, determination flaring into her eyes as she activated her bloodline.

The older ninja yanked his blade out of the ground and dashed towards the kunoichi once more. Hinata leaned back and saw a few of her violet colored hairs flit down to the grass. Catching a hold of his sword hand, she managed to deal a quick palm strike to his sternum, but suffered a knee to the gut for getting to close.

"Gah! You little-" He coughed up a little blood, "D-damn it, that was too close." The Oto-nin was well aware of the deadly martial arts developed by the Hyuuga clan. She probably had come incredibly close to severing something, but thanks to his quick reflexes managed to keep her from channeling too much chakra into his system, "That won't happen again..."

"I would rather not kill you..." Hinata spoke, her voice no longer timid, masking her anxiety and fear. In truth, she would have been shaking like a leaf right now. However, the fact that the others were counting on her fueled her to keep going on, "...there's no reason to keep fighting me with an injury like that. I purposely held back. If you keep going though, it'll worsen."

"Heheh, nice bluff, girl." the Jounin grinned wickedly, holding his blade before him, "I wasn't made a Jounin for nothing though."

"..." Hinata's feet shuffled forward a few inches, "I-I cannot let my friends down."

"Oh, you won't have to worry about that; you'll be dead before you know it." He flashed away suddenly.

Hinata's kekkai genkai told her to duck, and as she did, she felt metal barely touch her hair line, shaving a few centimeters of hair from the top of her head. Not a second later, she spun her left foot around and struck her enemy in the stomach, causing him to grunt in pain. Hinata didn't allow him a chance to retaliate this time though, and struck him hard in the right shoulder, then the left. His arms stung with excruciating pain, and he was forced to fall back to defense as Hinata continued her fluid movements of palm striking and powerful open handed thrusts.

Eventually the Oto-nin found himself reaching the end of the clearing, trees at his backside. He forced his arm muscles into action, and the earth sprung up before him. Two tendrils of soil formed, and caught Hinata by the hands. Hinata tried to free her wrists from his grip, but to no avail.

"Haha! Let's see how useful you are without those arms of yours!" He raised his short sword, intent on severing Hinata from her entrapped limbs and likely kill her in the process.

Hinata moved quickly, jumping up and delivering a rising kick to the Jounin's jaw as he tried to bring the blade down. Unfortunately, the sword managed to deliver a horrible gash to her right leg, but it was a small price to pay for her hands. Having lost his focus, Hinata was released from the Doton jutsu. The young Hyuuga forced herself to move forward, despite the sharp pain shooting down her leg with every step she took.

The Jounin opened his eyes in time to see Hinata throwing a hand towards his chest. He cursed and lowered his arm to block his chest, and felt a bone break under the chakra-enhanced blow. He gripped his sword tightly before thrusting his blade forward, but Hinata was ready for this. She slapped the blade's flat to the side, creating an opening in her opponent's guard. She slammed both hands forward, and a light spark of blue erupted from her palms as she pushed the older ninja into a tree. He cried out in agony as he hit the bark.

"Sh...shit..." He croaked, blood dribbling down his lips in copious amounts, "Killed...by a Genin..." He coughed out more crimson liquid, his eyes locked on Hinata as she walked towards him.

She knew he was done for; the Gentle Fist wasn't feared for nothing. She noticed with her Byakugan that his chakra coils were slowly collapsing from internal damage. It pained her to watch the enemy dying like this. Despite being a threat, Hinata was still a gentle and kind-hearted girl. She would end his suffering with a quick blow to the head. That would end the pain, and stop him from suffering any further. A quick and effective kill...

She noticed a ripple of chakra in the downed ninja's body become visible suddenly. Another tendril of earth rose up from the ground, grabbing a hold of her, "Wh-what?"

"...t-this...isn't over...here's...little present for the unlucky Hyuuga I would be...facing." the Jounin grimaced as he lit its fuse with chakra, "I planned..." He coughed out blood, "...on saving this for that Neji Hyuuga...but...heh, looks like you'll have to do..." the Jounin used his last bit of strength and dug into a pocket of his pants.

Hinata barely had time to react as he threw an explosive in the shape of a round paper ball. There was an unnaturally bright flash, followed by a small explosion. Hinata's eyes shut after a sharp stinging pain hit them, followed by the sensation of tiny pieces of rock and dirt hitting her body, some puncturing skin deep. She was sent rolling a few times before hitting a rotting log. She screamed in pain, covering her eyes as she felt the stinging sensation worsen.

Though he was dead now, the Jounin had done his job. Hinata rubbed her eyes and opened them several times...

Seconds became a minute. A minute became two, then three. Soon it was about five minutes before she started to feel tears running down her cheeks.

_"Oh no..."_ Hinata couldn't make out anything in front of her. Despite the burns on body, she forced herself up. She waved her hand in front of her face. Nothing...

Her hands began to tremble as she felt her knees quake.

Flash bangs' effects _never_ lasted this long. The maximum amount of time that shinobi-crafted flash-bang bombs lasted was four minutes, and those were expensive. The Jounin must have laced the bomb with chakra, and since the Byakugan was able to detect chakra and greatly enhance vision...

"Th-this was planned..." Hinata sobbed. She fell to her knees; the Jounin had made this chakra-enhanced flash-bang to blind any Hyuuga that he fought. It must have been _saturated_ with chakra to do this though!

Tears continued to fall. She was blind! Medical jutsu had amazing abilities...but...something told Hinata that what had happened was beyond repair. Even if by some miracle her damage could be repaired, optical damage was something that needed to taken care of immediately. Implanting eyes into another's damaged eye sockets was one thing...but...

Hinata couldn't feel chakra flowing into her optical nerve. As a Hyuuga, the nerves were especially sensitive to chakra flow in that area.

In layman's terms; she was had little to no chance of being able to see again.

"Hinata!"

The Hyuuga jumped at the sound of a familiar voice. She cursed herself as she directed her eyes towards the voice, only to see nothing. Her brain was telling her chakra to activate her kekkai genkai, but nothing resulted except wasted chakra flow.

"Hinata are yo- what happened?" She recognized the distressed voice as that of Kiba Inuzuka, "Hinata, y-your eyes..."

Hinata felt Kiba's footsteps near her, "Kiba-kun?"

"It's me, Hinata. I..." He gently grabbed her hand, letting her get a hold of it, "What caused this?"

"T-the ninja I was f-fighting...h-he...used a flash-bang with...chakra...a-and...and..." She broke out into tears, "Kiba, I can't see anything...I-"

"I'm here, Hinata." the gruff voice was gentler now, "Kakashi-sensei will be here soon..." Kiba frowned; he had been too late. The whimpering sounds of Akamaru could be heard as he licked at the Hyuuga girl's hand, "You did well, Hinata...you're safe with me."

2323232323

Team Delta and Alpha had been split apart when they managed to catch up with a member of the group that Tayuya had called the Sound Four. The ninja was a bulky teenage boy with a red mohawk. Tayuya had managed to inform the groups that he used earth based techniques and could drain chakra by contact.

Tayuya's words held true; he had flung several gigantic boulders at the group, splitting them apart. Sakura and Chouji ended up being the two closest to the Oto-nin, so they attacked. Sakura had called out to the others, telling them they could handle one guy by himself. If they continued to split up the teams, they'd lose their advantage in numbers.

Jirobou gave out an indignant snort as he stared down the pink haired kunoichi and the Akimichi boy, "Huh? Only two?" He laughed, "You'll need to do better if you plan on beating me!" He dug his hands into the ground and ripped out a large chunk of earth.

"Watch it!"

Sakura and Chouji leaped in opposite directions as the earthen projectile smashed into several trees.

Sakura managed to locate Chouji, who was hiding behind a few trees. She pulled out a kunai and an explosive tag, "Chouji, I've got a plan."

"Good. This guy's insanely strong!" The Akimichi whispered, "What's your strategy here?"

"Okay..." Sakura began.

2323232323

"Looks like we're not alone..."

Tayuya, Shino, and Tenten stood in the midst of a clearing, having been separated from the others after several explosions went off. Before they could regroup, a hail of strange weapons had descended upon them. Shino stated calmly that there was several other life forces in the area, and his bugs began to buzz around the group.

"How many?" Tenten asked, pulling out a scroll.

"Ten...twenty...wait..." Shino spoke, "That can't be poss-"

"Move!" Tayuya shouted. The three felt a sudden spike in chakra, and a second later several black colored blurs flew down from the canopy, missing the trio by a few feet, "Damn it, it's Kidomaru!"

"Who?" Tenten asked, "Is he one of those guys from that Sound Four group?"

Tayuya nodded, "He's a creep. He's toying with us right now. Those were some of his spider summons." The redhead brandished a long, slender object from within her shirt, "Cover your ears for a moment."

"A flute?" Shino questioned, "What do you plan on doing?"

Tayuya never got a chance to answer though. A spray of webbing shot at the group, catching Tayuya by the hand. She was pinned to a tree, and unable to play her flute properly, "Damn him. He was expecting me to use it."

"I got to say, Tayuya, you really shocked us when you went and defected to Konoha for _real_."

Kidomaru revealed himself, slowly lowering himself from the canopy by a single string of web. He snickered at his former teammate's predicament, "Although, you're pretty much helpless without that flute, aren't you?"

"Screw you, spider-fuc-"

Tenten hurled a few kunai at Kidomaru, but he dropped down to the ground before the metal projectiles could reach him. He licked his lips as he pulled out several kunai with his six hands, "Why don't we make a game out of this, hm?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tenten retorted, "We don't have time to deal with you!"

"Really? Too bad; I'm bored and you three could prove to be at a somewhat decent level of difficulty to entertain me." the Oto-nin replied, "I'm Kidomaru of the East Gate. One of the Sound Four, and-"

"As Tenten stated, we don't have time to deal with you." Shino interrupted, sending a wave of his bugs at Kidomaru. The Oto-nin spit out more webbing, ensnaring several of the beetles within the organic netting. He leaped back and threw his kunai at the three. Shino leaped to the side while Tenten blocked the kunai that would have hit Tayuya. By the time they turned back to face him, Kidomaru had retreated to the cover of the trees once more.

"He's gone." Tenten stated, "Shino, keep an eye out for him. Tayuya, let me get you out of that webbing."

"Don't bother. It's reinforced with chakra. You won't be able to cut through it."

"Chakra?" Shino asked, "In that case..." He turned to his ensnared insects, and lifted a single hand. The bugs within the netting began buzzing loudly before bursting out, free of the webbing.

"How did you do that?" Tayuya asked, baffled to see the bugs escape so easily from Kidomaru's powerful sticky thread.

"My bugs eat chakra. They simply drained the chakra from the webbing, and were able to free themselves afterward." He directed a small swarm to the web holding Tayuya's hand to the tree, "Hold still. This will take a moment."

As soon as Tayuya was freed from her bindings, she lifted her flute to her lips a second time, "Cover your ears for a second. I'll be ready this time."

Tenten and Shino didn't question her this time, abiding to her commands and covering their ears as best as they could. Tayuya began to play a hauntingly beautiful melody. Just as she expected, webs shot out of the tree line, but she was able to dodge while skillfully playing her musical jutsu.

_"Even if he's covering his ears, I'll be able to find him."_ Tayuya thought as she began to move, flute still playing while Shino and Tenten following behind with their ears still covered.

2323232323

"Ew! Is that another head on his shoulders?"

"Huh...and I thought the guy with six arms was a freak..." Kankuro murmured to himself, "What do you think, Ino?"

The Yamanaka gave a disgusted look to the Oto-nin before turning to the puppet user, "I don't know, but that guy gives me the creeps."

Kankuro rolled his eyes. Figures; Ino, while a kunoichi, still acted like a seven year old girl in a battle, "Right. Back me up, alright?"

"Got it." Ino replied, drawing forth a kunai before facing towards Sakon again, "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Sakon smirked, "You hear that, Ukon? They're wondering about their comrade's location."

"Heh...they're still oblivious, aren't they?" If Ino had been freaked out before, she was shaking in disgust when she watched the head behind Sakon turned around and began speaking, "Hey, blondie, Sasuke's gone. He's not interested in your pathetic village of weaklings."

"That's a lie! He's just..." Ino growled as she watched Sakon smirk mockingly, "We're not giving up on Sasuke!"

"Damn straight we're not." Kankuro agreed, unraveling his scroll to reveal a puppet, "I guess it's kind of nice that the two of you are stuck together. It'll make it easier to kill the two of you if you're both in the same body."

"Suna-nin? Looks like the scouts were right." Sakon commented, "Oi, Ukon, don't fall asleep. We don't have any intel on this guy."

Ukon groaned in annoyance, opening his eyes again, "What? Him?" Ukon studied Kankuro for a moment before speaking gruffly, "He's a puppet user. Probably has loads of weapons hidden in that thing."

"Heh, I have to admit, it's been awhile since I've gotten to use Karasu in a battle." the face painted ninja laughed, a predatory look in his eyes as he began to connect the chakra threads to his favorite puppet, "It's too bad for you that you don't know who you're dealing with. Good for me though."

"Cocky bastard, isn't he?" Sakon spoke, "I'm going to make quick work of you pieces of trash, then I'll kill the others that got past me. That is, if Kimimaro doesn't kill them first..."

"Don't underestimate our friends!" Ino shouted, "They're stronger than you think!"

"Maybe, but that won't save you two from being slaughtered by the two of us!" Sakon shouted, dashing forward, a murderous grin on his face.

2323232323

"_**Konoha Senpuu**_!"

Kimimaro was irked, to put it simply.

Sasuke Uchiha had gone off on his own after the process of awakening the second level of the Curse Mark was completed. Afterward, he had gone off on his own, stating he didn't need the help of anyone to get to Otogakure. Being the leader of the Sound Four, it was Kimimaro's duty to see to it that the Uchiha was able to reach Orochimaru without any hindrances from the enemy.

So he was left with little choice when Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee made an attempt to attack him so that Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara could get past him.

Focusing on the green clad shinobi, the bone user dodged the rising kick of his enemy. However, Lee anticipated this by spinning around a second time and catching him with a low kick, and sending the white haired shinobi to the ground.

Kimimaro landed on his back, and called forth a shield of bone to block the ax kick from Lee. He pushed the Taijutsu user back and rolled to the right in time to avoid a powerful strike from Neji, which caused a small crater to form where he had been lying seconds ago.

"Despite your best efforts, you will not be able to defeat me." Kimimaro spoke, "Orochimaru-sama desires Sasuke Uchiha as his new vessel. It is my duty to see to that said vessel is brought to him successfully." A bone sprouted up from beneath the skin by his wrists, pointed and hard as steel, "Come, you fools. Death is the only thing that awaits you."

"Lee, I'll cover your back." Neji spoke as he kept an eye on the Oto-nin, "You may have to go and call forth the Chakra Gates..."

"I understand, Neji." Lee replied, clenching a fist, "For the sake of Sasuke, I will not fail."

Neji couldn't help but smirk; this guy they were facing was easily in a whole other league compared to the others. He had managed to activate his Byakugan when they saw the Sound Four originally, and this Kimimaro was easily the strongest one if chakra reserves were anything to put into consideration. Despite that, Lee was determined to defeat their opponent.

"Ready?"

"Yes." Lee answered, lowering his stance a little.

"Go."

Lee disappeared in an almost perfect afterimage, having removed his weights earlier before their fight had started. Neji dashed forwards as Lee's foot connected with the leader of the Sound Four. Kimimaro was prepared this time, and dodged the first kick before jumping up to avoid the follow up. Lee, seeing that his opponent was catching on quickly, continued with his spin and flipped up and onto his feet before beginning an onslaught of attacks on Kimimaro. Neji was soon joining the fray, and the two members of Team Gai were soon forcing Kimimaro to move back, lest he wished to be dealt a painful kick or palm thrust to the body.

As the three continued their bout, it almost became a dance of sorts. Kimimaro was a natural in Taijutsu, as were Lee and Neji. A bystander would have almost believed that the three were being choreographed by someone on the sidelines. Between Kimimaro's graceful yet deadly moves, Neji's quick yet smooth maneuvers, and Lee's agile and powerful strikes, the three were a sight to behold.

Kimimaro leaped back several yards and lifted a hand, "Enough of this. I will not waste anymore of my time with trash like yourselves!" Bones poked out from the five digits of his fingers and thumb.

Neji quickly spun in a circle, calling for the Hakkesho Kaiten. Lee, while able to dodge most of the projectiles, caught one of the bullet shaped pieces of bone in the thigh.

"Gah!"

"Lee!" Neji called out as he stopped his rapid spin. He couldn't go to his teammate's aid, however, for Kimimaro was already upon him. Neji slapped one of the bone-like weapons to the side and attempted to slam an open hand into Kimimaro's stomach.

The sound of bone penetrating skin could be heard as Neji grit his teeth in pain. He looked to his left shoulder, and there was one of the two bone-made weapons that Kimimaro now had lodged in him. Neji bit down hard on his lower lip and pushed away, blood leaking out of the wound as he put some distance between him and the bone user.

"N-Neji! Your-"

"I'm well aware of that, Lee. Focus on the enemy!" Neji growled, more out of pain than annoyance, "I'll live. He missed my heart by several inches, and I think I managed to avoid any arteries being punctured.

"Neji..." Lee's worried expression became serious as he stood up, biting down on the pain in his leg, "We cannot lose. Naruto-kun and Shikamaru are depending on us!"

Kimimaro flicked his bone weapon, blood falling to the grass as he did so, "I see you two are foolish enough to continue fighting." He got into a new stance than before, "Very well. I will show you one of my dances." Long, bony projections erupted from beneath the skin in his body, "This is the Dance of the Willow."

Neji and Lee had barely a moment to register this information as Kimimaro charged forward, flipping and slashing, his movement very much like that of a dance. The two Konoha Genin were forced to back off as the incredibly powerful bones swept mere inches from their bodies, promising nothing short of bloodshed if they slipped up in the slightest.

As they continued their fight, Lee began to pick up on the movements of Kimimaro. Long, elegant sweeps, acrobatic attacks, and keeping a distance between himself and the opponent. Now, all he needed was a chance to find the opening.

Kimimaro charged forwards, elbow with bony projection aimed at Neji's chest.

Lee managed to catch a hold of the bone, much to Kimimaro's surprise, and quickly slammed a foot into his face. Kimimaro was airborne for about three seconds before he landed on the ground, but he got up as though nothing had happened.

"He...appears to not be injured...at all." Lee stated, disbelief clear in his voice, "What do we do, Neji?"

Neji winced as he moved his arms, "I..."

"Lee, Neji, move!"

Lee and Neji looked back for a moment, and caught the silhouette in front of the sun. The two immediately recognized the voice, and complied by jumping to either side.

"_**Fuuton: Kamitachi no Jutsu**_!"

Kimimaro was assaulted by a sudden gust, which lifted him into the air and spun him like a rag doll. Several gashes appeared on his body, causing blood to flow freely from the high speed winds. Then, as quickly as it appeared, Kimimaro was sent falling to the ground, bleeding and a breathing heavily.

"You...you're from Sunagakure..." Kimimaro stated, spotting the hitai-ate around her neck, "So it's true; Suna-nin are assisting Konoha in retrieving Sasuke Uchiha."

"My, aren't we the master of all things obvious." Temari smirked as she landed gracefully with her fan folded, "Let me guess...you're the ring leader of the other three stooges from Sound, and the one who'll get his ass chewed out if this mission goes wrong. Am I right?"

Kimimaro gave no verbal reply, instead raising his fingers once more and shooting his finger bone projectiles at the kunoichi. Temari didn't bat an eyelash, flicking her fan's metallic side in front of her and knocking the bullets aside.

"Hey, I asked you a question, jerk." Temari spoke, giving a mock scowl, "Geesh, the least you could do is give me an answer of some sort."

"You're Temari of the Desert; the last of the Wind Maidens."

Temari quirked an eyebrow, "_Last of the Wind Maidens_? Wow, who started that one?" She rolled her shoulders a bit before locking gazes with Kimimaro, all humor gone, "Look, bastard, I have someone important to me who's risking his neck for a guy I'm not entirely sure deserves to be helped, but I'll be damned if I fail them." She opened her fan up and one could almost claim there was a storm raging in her eyes if they peered into her turquoise orbs, "I plan on making this quick."

"I feel the same. The less obstacles, the better. You saved those two over there from being killed where they stood, no doubt. Don't think that will work again, however..." He flung the bones in either hand at her, "I'm stronger than you by far!"

Temari leaped to the side, evading the likely distraction. Sure enough, Kimimaro was by her side in moments. She raised her fan to block a curved blade-like bone, and forced herself to stay in place, sparks flying as she attempted to maintain her ground.

"So...this is all there is to Temari of Sunagakure then?" Kimimaro spoke, almost as though he was disappointed, "I should have expected as much." He held out his open palm, aimed right at her exposed stomach, "What a waste."

Temari's eyes widened, realizing her mistake all too late.

"Yaah!"

A palm slammed into the jaw of Kimimaro, knocking his head into the ground...hard. Temari backed away and gave a nod to Neji, who was now by her side, breathing heavily but otherwise still standing. Lee joined the two, resuming his Taijutsu stance, "Temari-san, thank you for coming to our aid. You truly are a great friend and ally!"

"Yeah, no problem." She flicked open her fan to two-thirds the full length, "So, is this the leader then? Tayuya mentioned he's got some wicked kekkai genkai with his bones, right?"

"It would appear that way. Lee and I haven't been able to do much against him. Close range combat against him is asking for trouble, and neither of us are that talented in long-range attacks." Neji frowned, "Temari...we're going to need your skills here."

"That's why I'm here." Temari said, "I'll keep him busy; you boys get him when you find an opening, alright?" She went quiet for a moment before continuing, "I see that Naruto's not here. Did he go on ahead?"

Neji gave a nod, "He and Shikamaru went onward. They believe that Sasuke's not too far ahead of them."

"Alright then." Temari frowned to herself. Pakkun had lead her towards Naruto after he stated that he could smell several ANBU heading towards the location of Sakura. While the blond wanted to help Chouji and Sakura, she knew that she was better off assisting those further ahead. Besides, after feeling a colossal boost in Chouji's chakra reserves, she didn't feel a need to really worry about her friends. The Akimichi boy seemed to have the situation covered from what she could sense.

Too bad she had to get stuck fighting this jerk Kimimaro, "You boy's ready?"

"Yosh! Leave it to us, Temari-san!" Lee shouted, placing a hand out before him in 'come hither' like gesture, while the other was behind him. Neji assumed the Gentle Fist stance, Byakugan activated.

Temari whipped her fan open fully, "Let's do this!"

2323232323

"Take this!"

Sakura managed to feint to the right, avoiding Jirobou's powerful fist and gave a hard, quickly executed kick to the side of his leg. He roared in pain as he felt his bones protest in pain. That little kunoichi was better than she let on.

For awhile the two shinobi he had been facing were keeping their distance. The girl had chucked a salvo of explosive tags tied to kunai at him, creating a smokescreen as well as sending shrapnel into the air. He easily avoided injury though by simply erecting a wall of earth in front of him. They had decided to avoid long range after seeing how ineffective it had proven to be.

Now they were attacking head-on, the girl named Sakura evading and delivering quick strikes while dancing around him, and the husky looking kid dealing the powerful blows when he got the chance. While they had yet to do anything serious to him, he was getting frustrated.

When Jirobou got frustrated, he got hungry.

Chouji grabbed Jirobou around the waist and began to lift him, attempting to perform a belly-to-belly suplex on the Oto-nin. Jirobou wouldn't have any of it.

"Not this time, fatty!" Jirobou shouted, grabbing Chouji by the neck, draining his chakra as he did so, "Heh! How do you like it? I'll drain your chakra while crushing your windpipe!"

"Chouji!" Sakura shouted. She leaped into the air and whipped out a kunai from her weapons' pouch before falling down upon the Oto-nin. Jirobou prepared to move but...

Sakura suddenly disappeared like a fog, and Jirobou cursed, "Genjutsu?"

She was already upon him, foot rising to meet his jaw. The blow connected, sending the large boy two feet into the air before falling on his back. Before he could get up, Sakura threw several smoke bombs and helped Chouji up, "Come on, let's back off for a minute."

As soon as they were in the trees, Sakura took a look at Chouji's neck, "Can you breath alright?"

"Y-yeah...but he drained a lot of my chakra." He growled as he felt his strength slowly ebbing away, "Sakura, I need to take the second pill."

Sakura gave a frown, obviously against the idea, "Chouji...you've already taken the green spinach pill, and that was only two minutes ago. You can't-"

"Sakura, look," Chouji began, "This guy just got a boost of chakra by draining it from me. He's already a juggernaut, and now he's going to be fresh and ready to go at us once more." He pulled out a small container with a red and yellow pill, "The yellow curry pill can help that. I keep him occupied while you attack when he's off guard."

"We can..." the kunoichi's shoulders slumped as she realized that arguing was pointless. Chouji was set on his decision, and in truth, it was the only way to do it. Sakura's Genjutsu was good, no doubt, but she could only hold an illusion for so long, "Alright, I'll be ready, Chouji."

Chouji gave a smile to her, "I know you will." He looked down to the clearing where Jirobou was standing, trying to look for them, "Back up a fifty yards, Sakura. I have a plan."

Sakura's eyes widened, "Eh? What are you thinking of doing that you need me to-"

"Just trust me, Sakura."

"...if you say so."

The kunoichi began jumping through the trees, putting some distance between herself and Chouji. The Akimichi took the yellow colored pill out of the case before swallowing it. He felt his stomach clench and his muscles went taut before he felt his body begin to burn up some of his body fat, converting it into chakra, "Alright! Here I go!"

"There you are!" Jirobou shouted, seeing the Akimichi boy descending upon him, "You trash! I'll teach you to mess with me!"

"_**Bubun Baika no Jutsu**_! Rrraagh!" Chouji's right arm suddenly increased in size, and slammed into Jirobou. The mohawked shinobi was pummeled into the dirt, coughing up dust as he felt the wind leave his lungs.

"W-what the hell was that?" Jirobou growled as Chouji lifted his arm, "Where did you get that sudden increase in chakra, you bastard?"

"Sorry, not giving out any secrets today!" Chouji's arm returned to normal size, and he raised his foot before it did the same, "Take this!"

Jirobou decided that enough was enough. He called upon the first stage of his Curse Mark, and triangular arrow like patterns spread across his body. Chouji noticed the sudden increase in his opponent's chakra, but it was too late to stop his attack.

_Bam!_

Jirobou caught the limb with relative ease, and smirked, "Tch, for a weakling like you to force me to use my Curse Mark..." He tightened his hold on Chouji's ankle, "...it's nothing short of insulting!"

He flung Chouji's into the air, but was surprised when the boy managed to right himself, "Got you!" Both feet increased in size, and the Akimichi stomped onto the Sound ninja, a dust cloud being created in the process.

Jirobou struggled under the crushing weight of the Konoha boy, and felt the taste of blood in his mouth, "Damn...it!" He pushed himself up by sheer strength, and caused the Akimichi to lose his balance.

Chouji's legs retracted back to normal size as he began to descend, but he quickly formed another hand seal, and Jirobou was once again able to sense a large increase in chakra output from the boy, "_**Chou Baika no Jutsu**_!"

Sakura, who was watching from the top of an older tree, suddenly realized why Chouji had told her to stay back, "Chouji..."

The Akimichi's body had literally become that of a giant's. He was now larger than the entire clearing that they had been fighting Jirobou in!

The forest floor shook as Chouji crashed into the earth, taking Jirobou with him.

At least, that was what he had planned.

"What? N-no way!" Chouji spoke, his eyes widening as he felt a pressure on his stomach, lifting him up. He felt the chakra of Jirobou increase greatly, alarming the Akimichi to impending danger, "How are you alive?"

"You...pieces of trash can't...beat me!"

Chouji was lifted into the air a second time, and he quickly dispelled his jutsu, returning him to normal size. He formed a fist before increasing the appendage's size and sending it at Chouji. Jirobou caught the fist with both hands, and spun the Akimichi around once before flinging him into a tree.

"Gaaa- ooof!" Chouji smacked into an older tree, and fell like a rag doll. He forced himself to his feet, his vision blurred from the sudden impact, "Gah...damn...he's stronger than before..."

Jirobou now had longer hair, red skin and warts on his face and shoulders. Along with physical changes, his chakra had increased by tenfold.

The powered-up shinobi ran straight at Chouji, laughing as he neared his target, "I'll have to demolish you first, then I'll kill that little pink haired twerp as well, haha-what the?"

Jirobou heard the sound of something burning...a fuse? He felt heat on his back, and looked to see Sakura to his right, heading towards Chouji's side, "What the fu-?"

_Boooom!_

Sakura was glad she had decided to invest in those D-class explosive tags. They weren't as strong as a C, but they did the job fine in one-on-one situations.

"Chouji, hang in there." Sakura lifted Chouji up, placing a shoulder under his arm, "Can you still move?"

"B-barely..." Chouji grunted, "He's gotten way stronger, and I'm almost out of chakra."

"I don't think he'll be getting up any time soon. That was an explosive tag I placed on him, so I don't think-"

Chouji's eyes seemed to be looking towards the clearing. He suddenly gasped, "Sakura, duck!"

The kunoichi heard something speeding through the air, and along with Chouji, ducked as a giant slab of rock hurled over their heads, smashing and knocking down a few trees as it crashed to the ground.

"H-he's alive?" Sakura said in disbelief, "I placed that seal right on him! How did he-?"

"Hahaha! Did you think that would have done me in?" came the voice of Jirobou. He stepped out of the cloud of smoke and dust, "My chakra's increased tenfold, and it's going to take a hell of a lot more than some puny little paper bombs to kill me!"

Jirobou slammed a fist into the ground before pulling up a large chunk of earth. He hurled it at the two, this time connecting and smashing them into another unfortunate tree.

Sakura screamed in pain as she felt pain jolt through her entire body. Chouji was in no better shape, as she turned and saw him coughing up blood, "Ch-Chouji...come on, we need to move..." Sakura began to make a hand seal, but was interrupted as she felt a hand wrap around her neck.

"Tch..." Jirobou sneered at the girl in his beefy hands, "To think that someone like _you_ is supposedly a Chuunin?" He spit on Sakura's Chuunin vest before continuing, "How the hell did you ever get promoted to a rank like that?"

Jirobou flung Sakura like broken toy. She rolled several times on the ground before smacking into a tree stump, her body going limp.

"Well, that was quick..." the behemoth of a teen commented, "I guess I shouldn't have expected as much from a girl who has pink hair, huh? Probably dyed it, too." He now was standing over the fallen kunoichi. He smirked before raising a foot to crush her chest in, "Trash..."

A blue and green blur appeared in front of Jirobou as he moved to stomp on Sakura. Quirking an eyebrow, Jirobou was now facing Chouji Akimichi...or...wait, no...this wasn't that fat kid, was it?"

Chouji Akimichi had changed drastically, it appeared. He now had bright, blue wings of chakra flowing off his back, and he had thinned out greatly.

"You're chakra increased again?" Jirobou exclaimed, "How?"

Chouji held up an empty container where the last of the colored food pills had been; the red chili pill, "You hurt Sakura. You insulted my friends, and helped with getting Sasuke out of Konoha." His hair and clothing seemed to flutter from the sheer amount of chakra he was emitting, "I cannot forgive you for doing that!"

Jirobou threw a fist forward, but Chouji caught it, then pulled the taller shinobi towards him before checking him in the gut, "Guaaah-"

Chouji threw the Oto-nin over his shoulders and sprinted forward in time to kick him before he landed. Jirobou felt a few ribs crack, but endured the pain. He would not be outdone by this weakling! He was one of the Sound Four! He couldn't be defeated by the likes of him!

The injured ninja stood up, his body shaking a bit, "Y-you think that you stand a chance against me? Think again!" Jirobou ran at Chouji, and the Akimichi did likewise. The two grappled each other, Jirobou feeling himself losing ground quickly. Then he grinned, "That's a lot of chakra you have there. I think I'll take it for myself!"

Chouji winced as he felt his chakra drain once more, but he was still far from exhausted. He delivered a headbutt to Jirobou before raising a knee to the gut. Jirobou doubled over, but was still breathing, "Heheh...that was a good meal...but I want more!"

The Akimichi managed to grab a hold of one of Jirobou's hands, and snapped his wrist. The member of the Sound Four howled in pain, "Damn it! My hand, you broke my-"

Chouji slammed an elbow into his stomach, causing Jirobou to cough out blood. Wincing in pain, Jirobou grabbed a hold of Chouji's head and began to drain chakra once more. This time, much more was flowing out since he had his hand placed over the first chakra gate.

Chouji's body was beginning to weaken.

"Ngh!" Chouji may have been overflowing with chakra, no doubt about it, but that didn't mean his body was able to cooperate with the massive increase. He kicked the Oto-nin in the leg, but fell over and felt the weight of Jirobou on him, "Let...go!"

"In your dreams, kid!" Jirobou retorted, "I have to admit, you fought pretty damn well for someone who's only a kid pretending to be a ninja. I'll make sure that this meal doesn't go to waste though. After I drain everything from you, I'll kill that girl, then the rest of your friends!"

Chouji's vision began to swim, but out of the corner of his eyes he saw a flash of pink. There was a feminine cry of anger, and Jirobou suddenly let go of the Akimichi.

"H-hey! Let go of me!"

If the situation weren't so dire, one would have seen it as rather humorous. Sakura was gripping Jirobou from behind by the neck, applying a chokehold while he struggled to grab a hold of her. The kunoichi could feel her hold tighten every time he exhaled. It would be over soon.

Unfortunately, Jirobou managed to get a firm hold of her arm, and began to pull her off, Sakura quickly dug into her weapons' pouch and pulled out a kunai, "This one's for Chouji, you bastard!"

The last thing Jirobou would see was a well manicured hand with a kunai in its grip flash before his eyes before piercing his jugular. Blood spurted out and onto the grass as Jirobou let out a choking sound, his throat having been punctured. He fell with a heavy thud, his body no longer moving.

Sakura dropped the kunai she had in hand, and ran to Chouji, blood smeared on her arms, "Chouji! Chouji!"

She knelt down beside the boy, raising his head. The boy's condition wasn't good at all. His body was shaking, his eyes were glassing over, and his body was rapidly cooling. Sakura could only feel barely detectable amounts chakra running through his body, "S-Sak..ra?"

Tears began to stream down her cheeks, "Idiot...why did you take the last pill?"

"I-it's...kay...Sakura...is...is he dead?"

Sakura gave a quick nod.

"Good...thanks...for h-help...me..." he let out a ragged cough, "T-tell...Sh-Shika an' Ino...t-that I was happy to b-be...their frien'...and...I'm...sorry."

"Don't talk like that! We'll get you to Konoha, and they can give you that medicine from the Nara cl-"

Chouji shook his head, "I'm t-too drained. Besides..." He slowly lifted his green jacket and shirt with an arm, revealing a large, sickly looking bruise, "...I think...he ruptur' something earlier on. I just...didn't...u-until now..." He let out a weak laugh, "You...you fought well, Sakura. I-I can see why you're...Chuunin..."

"You did all the work, Chouji...I let you get hurt...it's all-"

"No...y-you did fine...we're...shinobi...remember? Death is a part...of our lives..." He gave her a glassy-eyed smile, "Besides...I managed...to defeat...him...s-someone like me...won..." He held onto one of Sakura's hands weakly as he felt her hands begin to tremble, "Don't...cry...Sakura. I-it doesn't...even hurt any...more..."

"Chouji?" Sakura sniffled, "Chouji, come on...wake up." She shook his shoulders weakly. His eyes were still open, looking to the blue sky above, "Ch-Chouji?" She looked into his peaceful, unfocused eyes, "...Chouji...no..." She sucked in a deep, shaky breath and gently closed his eyes with a hand before she broke down.

The ANBU arrived at the spot a few minutes later to see Sakura Haruno crying on the chest of the lifeless Chouji Akimichi, his eyes closed and a calm smile on his face.

2323232323

Shikamaru felt a chill run down his spine suddenly, and he stopped. Naruto noticed, "Shika?"

"It's...it's nothing." He shook his head, "Sorry, let's go."

Naruto gave the boy a concerned look, but complied, "Sasuke can't be far from us. It's just him out there, so we'll be fine!" He looked ahead, "I'll just have to knock some sense into his skull, that's all."

"Remember, Naruto, Tayuya said that he's got the second stage of the Curse Mark now. He's not himself right now." the Nara reminded.

"That's true...sort of. Still, I can't believe that Sasuke would honestly go and..." Naruto went quiet, and Shikamaru sensed a sudden tenseness about the blond.

"Naruto?"

"There's four Oto-nin following. Not sure how strong, but they took out the five remaining clones I had with us..." He continued leaping across the branches of trees while slipping a kunai out of his pouch, "Looks like that snake really wants Sasuke."

_Fwiiish!_

Shikamaru turned behind him to the sound of at least three dozen shuriken whizzing through the air. He pulled out a kunai and a smoke bomb from his weapons' pouch, "Naruto! Look out!"

The Nara threw the smoke bomb a few seconds before the weapons' reached them. There were two cries of pain within the black smoke cloud. The two boys fell down from the branches suddenly, landing hard on the ground with several gashes and a few shuriken stuck in their bodies.

"C-crap..." Shikamaru breathed, "Naruto, are you okay?"

"Couldn't be better," Naruto replied sarcastically, "Damn it, they managed to sneak up on us after all."

The sound of four pairs of feet landing beside them alerted the two boys that their enemy had caught them. Naruto craned his head back, looking to the masked face of a random Oto-nin, "Heh, you're the boy that Iwa's got a bounty on, aren't you?"

"Glad to see I've become such a popular guy." Naruto retorted defiantly, "I take it you want to impress that freak Orochimaru by killing Naruto Uzumaki, right?"

"Killing the Jinchuuriki of both Konoha and Suna will give us an edge in the war, kid. Nothing personal."

"True...but I hate to disappoint you." Naruto grinned, "I'm not the guy you're looking for."

"Don't try and play with us, bastard. We know-huh?" The Oto-nin's eyes widened as he saw the two boys on the ground form a single hand seal, "Move! It's a trap!"

The four shinobi made to leap away, but the two shadow clones Naruto had created erupted faster than expected. Three of the Oto-nin managed to get past the initial explosion, but one of them wasn't that fortunate. The shinobi was blown back, smacking his head was smacked to the side with a loud, sickening snap issuing from his neck. He fell like a stone, his body falling on a downed tree and causing his body to end up in a very unnatural angle. Blood dribbled out of his mouth, but no sound escaped his throat.

Shikamaru began looking around in every direction to see if he could get a peg on the enemy, "Damn it, my shadow jutsu is useless here when everything is dark..." He scanned the tree line before whispering to Naruto, "Naruto, I hate to ask this, but can you be the decoy?"

The blond smirked, "Wouldn't have it any other way, Shika. Leave it to me; I know I can count on you to cover my six." With that, Naruto leaned forward on his branch until he was perpendicular with it, then rocketed off, causing Shikamaru to grab hold in order to steady himself.

"Man...troublesome idiot..." Shikamaru groaned, a tired smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "Then again...he's the best at what he does, heh."

Naruto landed with a roll, flipping forward onto his feet and getting into a ready stance, "Alright, who's the first to get their ass kicked?" He grinned, "No takers, huh?" He went through a few seals, "Fine by me! We'll do this the old fashion way then! _**Fuuton: Kiritori Kazehigyou no Jutsu**_!"

The whisker marked Jinchuuriki began to kick in swipe at the air with his hands, limbs of trees being cut clean from their trunks. Naruto made a mental note to not swipe directly at Shikamaru's location, though he still managed to whip up a storm of flitting leaves and bark within seconds.

Just as he had hoped, the trio of remaining ninja from Hidden Sound leaped out into the open, all from different angles while two were running through a few seals, one blasting out a fire technique of sorts while another blew out wind from their mouths. The third ninja had a katana in hand, and was ready to take Naruto head-on. Naruto leaped backwards, avoiding the blast of intense heat and the spiraling wind that smashed into the ground. He hopped to the left and avoided the blade of the third shinobi, and put some more distance between himself and the three. He flipped through the air and got onto his hands while spinning several times, his feet becoming like a top.

That's when he got an idea.

Naruto began to channel wind chakra into his hands, and steadily lifted himself off the ground while stabilizing himself from falling over. The two shinobi, who were running towards him now, stopped short when they witnessed the odd scene before them.

"What the hell is that guy doing?"

"Don't know, but he's the boy that has that order to be killed on sight. If we can kill him and bring back proof to Orochimaru-sama, we'll be rewarded big time."

The two ninja kept their distance while watching Naruto spinning around the area, a miniature whirlwind made from his own chakra. Naruto could barely sense where they were, but he wasn't aiming for accuracy, so he headed in their general direction. After hearing the sounds of cursing, he grinned to himself while propelling himself forward at an accelerated rate.

"Crap, he's got-oof!"

The blond felt his foot connect with a body, and heard a pained cry that headed off to his left somewhere.

_"Two down, two to go..."_ Naruto thought as he began to spin faster, closing his eyes to remain focused. He was starting to feel dizzy, and he'd have to stop eventually, but he wouldn't let up and risk his guard being down while he recovered.

"You're really an idiot if you think that'll be enough for me, kid! _**Kato**_...h-hey! What the hell?"

"What's wrong with my legs?" shouted a second voice.

The ninja who had been preparing a fire jutsu to burn the blond whirlwind to a crisp halted in the middle of his hand seals, and felt himself slouch while his hands fell into a position that would have been suitable if he had pockets. The ninja who had been holding the sword in his hands dropped it before doing the same.

"Looks like the Kage Mane no Jutsu was a success..." spoke the lazy voice of Shikamaru, who calmly walked out of the trees that had been surrounding the little disaster zone Naruto had created, "Oi, Naruto, there was a fourth guy that looked to be dead. His neck was snapped, probably from the initial blast from your exploding clones."

"What about the guy I hit earlier?"

Shikamaru jabbed a thumb behind him, motioning to a Chuunin of Oto tied to a tree, "Out like a light."

"They had a Nara on their team? Why the hell weren't we informed of that?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Apparently your intelligence was all that good. Which is fine for me." He looked at the two, then to Naruto, "Hey, Naruto, where's the weapons' pouch of the guy on the right?"

"Who, fire jutsu guy?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod from his fellow Chuunin, "Um...looks like it's on the left leg."

"Hold him down with a few of your clones. I'm going to release him for a second. Get him to face the other guy."

Naruto did as he as Shikamaru said, and had five clones grab a hold of the Oto-nin before Shikamaru let go of him with his shadow technique. The Oto-nin immediately struggled against the five Naruto clones, but they managed to bring him to his knees and face him towards his fellow teammate.

"That'll work." Shikamaru sent out a tendril of shadow and latched it on to the Oto-nin. Naruto dispelled his clones as Shika continued his task by making the motions of drawing a shuriken from either the locations of the two enemy ninjas' weapon pouches. The two ninja did likewise, and their eyes widened as they watched themselves begin to move as though they were preparing to throw.

"H-hey! What are you doing?" shouted the one closest to Shikamaru.

"I'm giving myself assurance that you aren't going to lie to me." Shikamaru replied, "This jutsu allows me to hold you in place and imitate my movements." The Nara sighed, "Now, answer me this; is it true that Orochimaru wants to make Sasuke Uchiha his next vessel?"

Naruto grimaced; he heard the reason behind Orochimaru's actions with Sasuke from Tayuya herself. She said that Orochimaru's body had created jutsu that allowed him to keep himself from aging, but the toll was the soul of the vessel. As such, he was harboring himself in an organic shell of sorts that eventually would wither away. This required him to find a new host about every three years or so.

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked the closer Oto-nin, "We weren't told anything but to assist the Sound Four in bringing that Uchiha brat to Otogakure. That's all!"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, "Uh huh. That all?" He tensed his muscles, ready to throw the projectiles at either of his temporary prisoners, "I'm not in the mood for playing games right now."

"W-wait!" shouted the further Oto-nin, "I...I recall those Sound Four brats saying something about Sasuke being 'chosen' by Orochimaru-sama during the Chuunin Exams in Konoha. Kimimaro said something about...Sasuke becoming the next step towards Orochimaru gaining all the knowledge of the world...all the jutsu or something!" He shook his head, "I don't know exactly, we just follow orders!"

Naruto shared a look with Shikamaru, and the Nara nodded, "He's after Sasuke's Sharingan. Should have saw that coming."

Shikamaru dropped his hands into a seal, causing the two shinobi to drop their weapons and do the same, "Well, that solves that." He dug into a pocket and pulled out a small ball of sorts, "Naruto, cover your eyes for a second. I need to intensify the light here."

"O-okay..." Naruto replied, closing his eyes.

Naruto heard a loud bang, and felt an intense light hit his eyelids.

"_**Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu**_!"

"Wh-what? H-hey, st-stop that! N-no-aaa...ack!"

The sound of two bodies dropping to the ground could be heard, and Naruto opened his eyes to see the two enemy ninja dead on the ground. Naruto looked up to Shikamaru, who was frowning, "Wow...was that one of your clan's techniques?"

"Yeah. The jutsu allows me to choke them with shadows." Shikamaru scratched his neck, "It's a pain...and I wasn't really keen on taking lives, but I don't want to take risks. We got one prisoner right over there." Shikamaru nodded to the unconscious Oto-nin tied to the tree, "That's enough for us."

_Clap, clap, clap..._

"Well done, you two. That was quite a show of teamwork right there."

The two whirled around to see a figure standing in the branches. Naruto's face settled into a snarl as he recognized the newcomer.

"Kabuto..."

Shikamaru recognized the bespectacled man as from the Chuunin Exams that had dropped out after the second test. He was definitely the same guy...but he had a different hitai-ate on this time, "So you were right about him, Naruto. He is with Otogakure."

"Yeah. A really good actor if you ask me." Naruto replied, "Where the hell is Sasuke?"

"You want to know?" Kabuto asked as he hopped down from the branches, "Well, Naruto, I saw him no more than a minute ago heading towards the Valley of the End. Maybe you can catch up with him." The light reflected of Kabuto's glasses, giving him a rather unsettling look, "That is...if you can get past me first. Feel lucky for another round, Naruto-kun? I heard you had a close call last time we fought."

"You son of a-"

Shikamaru held out a hand, "Naruto, hold it." He kept his eyes on the silver haired man as he spoke, "I'll take him. I'm sure the others will catch up shortly."

Naruto shook his head, "You don't know that for-"

"I'm here."

Shikamaru and Naruto both looked up to see Gaara standing on a branch, his eyes locked with Kabuto's.

"My my, Gaara too? This is quite a nice little reunion, wouldn't you say?" spoke Kabuto as he pushed his glasses up, "So...you three intend on taking me on?" He smiled, "That's hardly fair."

"We'll lessen the odds against you then." Shikamaru spoke, "Naruto, go. Sasuke's probably not more than a few minutes from here. You're faster than Gaara or me; go stop him."

"Shika-"

"He's right, Naruto." Gaara began, "Besides...I never got to test myself against this freak." Gaara's sand began to stir.

Naruto blinked in surprise, _"Did Gaara just call someone a freak? Damn...he's serious!"_

Kabuto chuckled a bit, "Heh, so the Ichibi boy wants to take me on, then?"

"You could say that." Gaara began, floating down on a cloud of sand, "I just want to make sure that you don't go and pull anymore underhanded deeds against Sunagakure or Konohagakure. The world would do well to have less like you in it."

"Coming from someone who once killed to prove his worth in the world, that's a bit hypocritical, don't you think?"

Gaara wasn't phased by Kabuto's retort, "I don't have the cleanest of histories, I realize that. However, unlike you, I'm willing to try and start over and be a better person."

"Hm. I guess it's best to agree to disagree, Gaara." Kabuto pulled out a kunai from his pocket, "Very well; Shikamaru Nara and Sabaku no Gaara. This should be an interesting match."

"Naruto," Gaara began as he took a stance beside Shikamaru, "Get going. If we don't bring Sasuke back to Konoha, all this will be for naught." He turned to meet his fellow Jinchuuriki, "There's still some light inside him, Naruto. You know it. Show it to him."

Naruto grit his teeth; leaving two of his friends to fight a monster like Kabuto was not on his top ten things he's like to do, but Gaara had a point. Every moment spent not moving was another moment more of time for Sasuke to fall further into Orochimaru's clutches.

"Careful, guys. He's a lot better than he lets himself off as. Watch out for his hands, too. He knows medical jutsu and can create a chakra scalpel."

"Thanks for the heads up," Shikamaru spoke, grabbing a kunai from his pouch, "Bring Sasuke back for us. I need to talk some sense into that moron when I see him next time."

"I'll try not to beat him up too much, then." Naruto spoke. He gave a final nod to Gaara and Shikamaru, then dashed off, a buffet of wind being whipped up in his wake as he cruised off to meet the runaway Uchiha.

"That was charming." Kabuto smiled, "It's too bad neither of you will be able to save Sasuke, since he's not planning to be saved in the first place."

"Gaara," Shikamaru began, "I'm running low on chakra. I'll do what I can, but my jutsu can only do so much when I'm reaching my limit."

Gaara's reply was to whip up more sand, "I'll do what I can to keep you covered, then. Stay close, and if I tell you to do something, please do it."

"Sure thing." Shikamaru answered, "Let's get this guy."

"Already on it." Gaara spoke, and sent forwards several tendrils of sand.

_"Let's see how strong the Leaf's future ninja really are..."_ Kabuto thought, the ever-mocking smirk clearly present on his face.

2323232323

Somewhere within Swamp Country, two figures sat in a small cave, the occasional chirping of a frog interrupting the otherwise tranquil silence.

"Looks like the meeting's about to start." Kisame stated as he focused his chakra, feeling a pull from their leader. A second later, several blurred images appeared within the cave.

The chakra based projections flickered in and out of focus as one particular voice spoke among the group, "It seems that the next stage of our plan will begin within a year or so. War is upon many shinobi nations, namely Konoha, Iwa, and Suna."

"Really? I thought that Otogakure started the whole war?" spoke up the voice Kisame, "I was under the impression that Hidden Sound instigated the whole invasion attempt on Konoha, and Iwa was just back up."

"Oto?" repeated a deep and gravely voice belonging to a hunched over figure, "Isn't that the supposed village that Orochimaru started after defecting?"

"Ho ho, looks like you've got a tab on your former partner, eh, Sasori? That'd be fun to blow up the whole village, un?"

"Shut it, Deidara." the man named Sasori retorted, looking to his new partner, "This doesn't involve you."

"Enough." spoke the leader of the group. Pain surveyed the members before continuing, "I've just received information about the two Jinchuuriki that belong to Konoha and Suna; Naruto Uzumaki and Sabaku no Gaara. It appears they're making an attempt to retrieve the runaway Sasuke Uchiha."

"Sasuke Uchiha?" Deidara looked over to Itachi, "Heh, looks like the apple never falls far from the family tree, right Itachi?"

"Does the Uchiha have a bounty on his head?" spoke a new voice, belonging to the one known as Kakuzu, "An Uchiha survivor likely has made himself rather wanted within the ninja world, no doubt."

"Don't bother," spoke Itachi, looking to his peer, "Sasuke is already heading to Orochimaru as we speak. He's been afflicted with Orochimaru's Curse Mark."

"Hm. Pity." Kakuzu replied, "I'll keep an eye on that one."

"Always about money, with you." replied Kakuzu's partner, "If he's wanted alive, I'm not interested."

"You wouldn't know how to do such a thing anyway, Hidan."

"Piss off, Kakuzu!"

Pain closed his eyes before continuing, "As I was saying, Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara have both joined with three retrieval teams to get back the Uchiha boy. Zetsu, if I recall, you're closest to their location, and will be able to reach them rather quickly. Keep a tab on the two Jinchuuriki, and report your findings to me."

"**Understood**." replied the member named Zetsu, "It'll be interesting to see the fox-boy in action!" With that, Zetsu's image faded away.

"We will continue to go about our mercenary operation to collect more funds. For the time, continue as you were, but be prepared within a year's time to begin the next step of operations. I will contact your groups when you're needed to begin retrieving the Jinchuuriki." Pain looked to each of the members within the cave, then finished, "That is all. You're dismissed."

The images flickered away one by one until only Kisame and Itachi were left in the cave, "Well, that's quite a quick meeting, don't you think?"

Itachi made no comment, as expected. Kisame had grown used to the silence, but he could tell when Itachi was ignoring him and when he was choosing not to comment. Though the Uchiha was by no means a conversationalist, he was at least a polite man.

"We should continue with the job we have in Swamp." Itachi spoke. For a moment, Kisame could have sworn he saw a far-off look in Itachi's eyes, though it could have just been from the lack of proper lighting, only a small fire giving off any ample light.

"Right." Kisame replied with a grin.

Itachi looked out to the opening of the cave as he stood up, Kisame following behind.

Part of Itachi had been expecting this; Sasuke was bound to try and gain more power one way or another. Though he had told his brother to seek a means of defeating him, he was a bit disappointed in his choice of doing so. Orochimaru was by no means a man to be trusted, and he probably could guess within three chances why the former member of the Sannin was interested in his little brother.

For now, Itachi let those chains of thought fall into the back of his mind. He would need to finish this job they had been given quickly; soon he'd be on a solo task of his own that would need about six months' time. The worst part was that he would need to accomplish said task within a sixth of the time so he could go about beginning a more personal and far more important task of his own.

2323232323

Sasuke stopped, his eyes scanning the area around him. He was finally here at the border of Rice and Fire Country. The Valley of the End.

He was overlooking a large waterfall, which cascaded down towards a large valley. On either side of the falls were the statues of Madara Uchiha and the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju. This was supposedly the very same place that the two legendary ninja had their final battle. Sasuke took the scene in, knowing this would be the final time he'd be seeing it within the boundaries of Fire Country. He couldn't turn back, even if he wanted to. He'd gone too far...

"Sasuke!"

The Uchiha didn't even turn around; he sensed Naruto following him about two minutes ago, the blond's steadily catching up to him. The raven haired youth slowly turned around, onyx meeting sapphire, "Naruto. I figured that you'd be the one who caught up with me."

The blond gave him a look that classified somewhere between pissed off and hurt, "What in the name of the five Hokage are you doing?" He stepped forward, "I can understand wanting to beat the living hell out of your brother, and even killing him, but why go to that slithering bastard for the power you want when you can just become stronger in Konoha? Huh?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, "Naruto, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me!"

"Fine." Sasuke opened his eyes, "I don't want to drag Konoha's name along with me, Naruto. I don't want the burden of having ties follow me down the path I'm taking. There's nothing good waiting for me where I'm headed, but it's something I _have_ to do. Alone."

Naruto shook his head, "That's utter bullshit and you know it!" He clenched a fist, "I fought him, Sasuke, and believe me when I say that there is no shame in having us help you!" He looked to see that Sasuke was indeed listening, "We want to help you, Sasuke, but if you don't try and come to your senses-"

"You talk too much, Naruto." Sasuke cut him off, though it wasn't harsh or threatening, "I'd rather not fight you, if possible. Just let me go my way, and we'll be fine. Konoha has no need of me anyway; I went too far and almost killed you. They would have kept me locked away for a good amount of time, then they'd have to do that psychoanalysis crap and determine if I'm fit to be a shinobi, and likely find that I'm not."

"Sasuke..."

The Uchiha frowned; he was through kidding himself. Deep down, he knew he was a bit messed up, but he didn't really care. He'd screwed up enough in Konoha to try and make amends anyway. Nearly causing the death of one of your close friends had made Sasuke's issues quite clear; he was a hazard to those around him.

"Naruto...when I rammed my hand through your chest...I-I felt like the life had been sucked out of me for a moment. I was scared that..." He grit his teeth, "I didn't want to live knowing that I killed one of the few people I had come to trust just because I want power to kill my traitor of a brother! I don't understand why you're willing to try and get me back when I-"

"Look, I'm over that! Alright? I forgive you! I know you got caught up, but it's not all your fault! That damned Curse Mark-"

"This Curse Mark is only further proof of who I really am!" Sasuke spat, "I'm not who you think I am, Naruto! No matter how many shades of rose-colored glasses you look through, I'm still the person you see before you!"

"Well guess what, Sasuke, I'm not perfect either!" the blond growled, "I left the village because I was afraid of myself! Of what I would do if I lost control of this _demon_ inside of me!" He gripped his shirt covering his stomach, "I'm sick of this pity talk, Sasuke! I'm sorry your life sucked, but damn it, it's not too late to try and fix what you've done! Just come back home and we'll-"

"I have no home!" Sasuke shouted, "I'm a nuke-nin! A traitor! A deserter! Do you want me to spell it out for you?" He took a few steps forward to the blond, "You can't stop me from doing this, Naruto! Not unless you want to fight me, and I sure as hell don't want to do that!" He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them, the Sharingan staring right into Naruto's eyes, "Don't get in my way, Naruto...for your own good, you should just leave."

"Leave?" Naruto repeated before looking down, "...if I left...what kind of friend would I be?"

"A smart one." Sasuke answered, "It's not worth the effort you're putting into this. I don't _want_ help, Naruto. I want to become stronger, by my own means."

"Do you even know _why_ Orochimaru was seeking you out to begin with, Sasuke?" Naruto questioned, "He doesn't care about you! He just wants your Sharingan! He's planning on making you his next host!"

"I figured that out already, Naruto." Sasuke replied, "I heard bits about that snake long before I was let out of prison. It's how he disguised himself in the Chuunin Exams." The Uchiha looked to the sky above to see that there was dark clouds forming over them, "I'll learn what I can from him, then move on and do what I have to to kill Itachi. That's all there is to it."

"...I see." Naruto looked up, eyes no longer holding the same warmth they always seemed to hold, "I'm afraid I can't let you leave either way, Sasuke. Everyone's putting their lives on the line to bring you back. I can't let them down." Naruto assumed his Taijutsu stance, "Looks like you're going to have to fight and defeat me if you plan on continuing onward."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. He had silently been hoping that Naruto would challenge him. Despite the circumstances, Sasuke wanted to fight the blond. Naruto was an obstacle for him. The darker part of his mind told him that beating Naruto would prove that we was closer to beating and killing Itachi.

"I guess we're done with words then..." Sasuke slid into a stance. Naruto's feet shifted a bit as he faced towards Sasuke, ready to strike.

A wind blew through the air, several leaves flitting between the two. They watched each other through the vast screen of greenery, waiting for the other to move. They could hear their hearts pounding, smell the steamy vapor from the nearby waterfall, taste the tension in the air, feel their muscles tightening.

Then the wind died down. They both dashed forward, one intent on proving his strength to himself, the other doing what he must to bring his friend back.

"Sasuke!"

"Naruto!"

Neither of them was planning on backing down.

**End of Chapter Twenty-three: Yep, more to come of course. As always, I prove my cruelty by cutting the chapter off right at the beginning of the fight. What will happen in the famous Sasuke versus Naruto fight in VotE? Looks like you'll have to wait and see. I won't go and preach about patience and all that; just have faith in me being able to update. I may not update as fast as some would wish, but I don't intend on putting this story on hold.**

**As you can see, there's been a few minor changes. A few fights have changed (and have yet to be finished). Character's aren't as death-proof either. Sorry to any Chouji fans; I love the guy, but death is a part of the shinobi world. How will this effect things for the remaining Konoha Eleven and Suna siblings? I'm sure you have a few theories. You'll see the aftermath in due time. **

**Morbid topics aside, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, keep on reading! More chapters will be on the way!**


	24. Wayward Uchiha Part Two

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. Not much else to say about that aside from wondering what Kishimoto was thinking when he gave Naruto the orange jumpsuit. I mean...eh, never mind. I can't find it in myself to hate the jumpsuit.**

**Chapter 24: Wayward Uchiha- Part Two**

Sasuke winced as he felt his fist collide with Naruto's. The two boys shared a few seconds of silence, looking into each others eyes before jumping back. Naruto dashed forward a heartbeat later, catching the Uchiha in the chest with a powerful kick.

"Hrk!" Sasuke's abdomen clenched in pain as he skidded across the rocky ground, rolling to his feet and glaring at the blond, "Lucky shot."

"Plenty more where that came from, teme." Naruto replied with a growl, "Unless you want me to thrash you until you're barely alive, you'd better give up. _Now_."

"Tch," Sasuke got into a stance while a cocky grin appeared on his face, "You think it'll be _that_ easy, Naruto? What makes you think that you'll win this fight?"

"Simple." Naruto replied, "I've got you outnumbered."

The raven haired youth's eyes widened as his heightened senses picked up several footsteps approaching him from behind. He whirled around, kunai in hand, and slashed at two of Naruto's Shadow Clones. He ducked before spinning around and tripping up a third, then rolled to the side before smashing a heel into the face of a fourth clone.

Sasuke felt a fist smash into his gut. He ignored the initial pain and grabbed the arm before twisting the limb and slamming a palm in the elbow joint.

"You were saying?" Sasuke spoke as he stood in the smoke of four clones, "You can't beat me by trying to overwhelm me with numbers, Naruto."

The blond raised an eyebrow, "I figured that'd happen." He formed a seal, "Good thing that was just a warm up!"

Twenty more clones came into existence, all charging straight towards the Uchiha boy. Sasuke ran through a few hand seals before blasting a giant fireball at the incoming clones. Several managed to move away, but the intense heat combined with the impact from the powerful jutsu decimated the majority of the the Shadow Clones.

Sasuke was aware of what Naruto was doing. He was biding his time to try and let either Sasuke run out of chakra, or wait for the others to arrive and give back up. The very thought that Naruto wasn't taking this fight seriously, despite how much Sasuke had stated that he was intending to become more powerful, angered him.

Quickly disposing of the remaining clones with a few projectiles and well executed Taijutsu attacks, Sasuke faced forwards, "Are you finished? I'm through with the toying around, Naruto! Fight me like you mean it!"

Naruto frowned, "Looks like you got me there, Sasuke." Naruto crouched a bit, "You want me to take this seriously?" He clenched both his fists, "You don't need to ask me twice."

The Uchiha grinned before activating his Sharingan, "Let's see how strong you truly are, dobe."

The boys jumped at each other, steel clashing with steel as their kunai sparked from the impact. They landed a few feet apart from each other, Naruto gritting his teeth as he felt a weak stinging sensation on his left arm, "Damn it." He looked to see a nasty cut from Sasuke's kunai running across his bicep, "Bastard could have killed me right there if he hit the right spot."

Sasuke's tomoe spun within his red colored irises, "Good. Glad to see that you're aware of how far I'm taking this."

"You tried to kill me." Naruto spoke, "Am I right?"

Sasuke shrugged, "I knew you'd survive. You've got the Kyuubi to help with that."

"That doesn't justify anything, Sasuke!" Naruto growled. The blond was in front of the Uchiha a moment later, a kick narrowly missing Sasuke's chin. Using his opponent's momentum to his advantage, the Uchiha grabbed Naruto by the ankle and spun him around once before throwing him into a cluster of boulders.

Naruto shook his head and he attempted to gain his bearings. Opening a bleary eye, he saw a flash of orange and red, and quickly leaped away as a stream of flames blasted into the spot he had been lying moments ago.

"_**Fuuton: Kazebakufuu no Jutsu**_!"

Naruto opened up both palms and shot the high powered gale of wind towards Sasuke. The wind powered technique fueled the flames of Sasuke's fire technique, and caused a massive explosion. Sasuke was thrown back while Naruto landed, a little shaken himself from the eruption of wind-enhanced fire technique.

Sasuke stared up at the now cloudy sky, his body shaking with anger. Was this really how far behind Sasuke compared to his blond friend?

"No." Sasuke said in a whisper, "I'm not weak. I won't be outdone..." He got to his feet once more.

"Had enough?" Naruto asked as the wind began to pick up. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance while the clouds lit up with lightning.

"You wish."

~o~o~o~o~o~

"Hey! Sakon! What gives? Let me take over for a bit, damn it! You need to rest!"

Sakon didn't reply for a few moments, his head slumped over. He opened his eyes suddenly, and looked around.

"Sakon, watch it!"

"Oh crap!" Sakon shouted suddenly as he leaped back, a few senbon hitting the earth where they were standing, "S-sorry, Ukon. I'm fine...just leave it to me."

Ukon gave his twin brother a weird look before nodding, "Fine...just don't do anything stupid."

Sakon and Ukon were still joined together, but they had called upon the first stage of the Curse Mark now. The blond girl had disappeared some time ago after Sakon delivered a well placed kick to the stomach, sending her flying into the woods. He would have gone after her to finish her off, but the damn puppet master from Suna got in their way.

"Any idea where he is?" Sakon asked Ukon, "That puppet freak is better at hiding than I thought. When I get my hands on him..."

"Calm down, Sakon, you're not going to get things done any faster if you lose your temper." Ukon scolded, "He's probably watching-"

"Ino, now!"

Ukon and Sakon both looked up to see said puppet user perched on a branch.

"Got it, Kankuro!" Sakon replied before leaping back suddenly.

Ukon gave a confused look to his twin brother, "Sakon, what the hell are you doing?"

Sakon gave a smirk, "Sorry, but Sakon's not available right now."

Ukon's eyes widened, "Shit! You're that Yamanaka girl!"

The last thing Ukon saw was his brother smirking before the two fell into a wooden case of sorts. Sakon's head slumped down suddenly, and lifted a moment later, "H-huh? Ukon, where are-?"

"Sakon, damn it, we need to get out of here n-"

The sound of metal piercing flesh in multiple areas was heard as the two Oto-nin screamed in agony. Kankuro smirked as Kuroari, along with Karasu, trapped and impaled the two ninja. Crimson rivulets leaked through the slots of Kuroari, dripping onto the ground below.

"Too bad they never learned to not underestimate the Hidden Sand. They could have avoided the _**Kurohigi Kiki Ippatsu**_ if they had been more careful."

Kankuro looked over his shoulder to the unconscious form of Ino. Thanks to her _**Shintenshin no Jutsu **_they had been able to get the twin in control of their body to move into Kankuro's trap. She had come up with the idea shortly after Kankuro explained his plan while they hid from Sakon and Ukon.

"Thanks for the help, Ino." Kankuro said as she sat propped up against the tree, breathing lightly, "Guess I'll have to wait until you wake up before we get moving again, huh?" He looked back down to Kuroari and Karasu and sighed, "Damn...it's going to take some time to get them cleaned up after killing those two."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Lee's foot smashed into a shield of bone, jarring his limb from the impact. He grimaced before leaping back as one of Kimimaro's bladed bone projections swiped at him. Lee, along with Neji and Temari, had been fighting the Oto-nin and leader of the Sound Four for about a good seven minutes now. It was getting exhausting; the bone user wasn't one to leave openings, and he was a master of close combat. Neji had been stabbed in the thigh, so he was currently standing a ways back with Temari, waiting for a chance to help Lee when he could.

"I must admit, you are truly a worthy opponent." Lee spoke as he kept his distance, "It is a shame that such a skilled fighter like you works for someone like Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru-sama gave me purpose, and I intend to fulfill that purpose." Kimimaro retorted.

"Purpose?" Lee inquired, "What would that purpose be?"

Kimimaro closed his eyes for a moment before retracting his bony shield and calling forth a second bony blade from his arm, "To insure that the future vessel of Orochimaru reaches Otogakure alive, and in one piece."

Lee frowned, "Your master is an enemy of Konoha. Seeing as you are one of his subordinates, I must do what I can to eliminate you."

Neji's eyes narrowed, "Lee...what are you intending to do?" The Hyuuga's Byakugan began to see a spark of chakra blossom from the first gate in Lee's brain. Soon the second, third, and fourth gates were opened as well.

Kimimaro began to notice the side effects of opening the chakra gates within his opponent. Lee's skin began to darken from increased blood flow, and his pupils became almost completely white. A green aura began to surround him as wisps of chakra spun around him.

"Fifth Gate! Limit Gate! Open!"

The ground around Lee cracked as he opened the fifth gate within his body. His muscles went taut for a few moments before he looked up to face Kimimaro once more.

The next thing Kimimaro knew, he was hit with the force equivalent to a wrecking ball, and smashed through a few larger rocks in the clearing before he stopped. He looked up to see that the ninja adorning green was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm right here!"

Kimimaro whirled around and raised an arm to block a kick to the stomach. Big mistake. He grit his teeth as he felt pain wrack through his limb. He was thankful that he had bone that was strong as steel, but it didn't stop his nerves from registering the signal that he really should have avoided the strike.

The Green Beast of Konoha wasn't about to stop there, however. He spun around to connect his heel with the boy's face, sending the bone user bouncing off the ground several times. Before stopped his trajectory, Kimimaro was punted into the air and a second later felt a punch connect with his gut. Though, it could have been several punches, he wasn't sure at this point.

Temari watched in awe as Lee ran circles around Kimimaro, having unlocked the Limit Gate within his chakra system. Neji had explained that if Lee was using the chakra gates so soon in a battle, then he must be serious.

Kimimaro landed with the force of a small meteor, dirt, rocks, and even a few small trees being sent into the air as he crashed down to Earth. He forced open an eye in time to see a green blur rocketing down towards him.

"Shit!" Kimimaro cursed before biting down the pain and rolling to the side. He felt the powerful tremor from Lee's feet connecting with the ground. He rolled several times as the large crater formed in the midst of Lee's landing before getting to his feet.

Lee was breathing hard, and had regressed to his normal state. He seemed to be a bit disturbed at the sight of Kimimaro staying on his feet, and vocalized his thoughts, "Y-you managed to survive that?"

Kimimaro wouldn't admit it, but he hadn't received such a short, thorough beating from anyone like that in ages. He schooled his features and spoke as blood dribbled down his mouth, "I assume...that was your ace in the hole...am I right?"

Rock Lee made no comment.

"I see. Well, I have yet to reveal my true powers to you. Be honored, though, for I shall do just that for you. I cannot afford to let you live any further, seeing as you have that much strength at your disposal."

Temari, Neji, and Lee all felt the hairs on the back of their neck stand up as the bone user began to call forth the power of the Curse Mark on his chest. It spread before his body began to transform before their very eyes. Bones sprouted out from his back, forming a row of spinal projections while other projections sprouted out of his sides. The truly unsettling part of this new form, however, was the large tail that formed from newly grown bones, making a large, bony tail with a spikes at the end.

"That must be the level two Curse Mark that Tayuya spoke of..." Neji commented as he got into his stance, "His chakra's changed, and increased a great deal." The Hyuuga looked to Lee, "Keep your guard up, Lee, he's a lot stronger now!"

Lee gave a nod, "Roger."

Temari unfurled her fan, "Well, that tail looks rather dangerous. Let's see how he can handle this." Biting her thumb, Temari spread a streak of blood on her fan, "_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_!"

A large plume of smoke exploded from Temari's fan as she waved it once. A second later Kamatari was floating before her, sickle in hand. He took in the scene before turning to Temari. She looked to him before nodding to the Oto-nin. The white weasel looked on to the bone user before grunting, "Hm. You run into all different sorts, don't you, Temari?"

Without another word, Kamatari whipped his sickle around to create a powerful razor wind, then flew towards his target. He zipped past Lee, and raised his weapon before beginning his deadly dance.

Kimimaro barely registered what had happened, but managed to curl up into a ball and raise his tail over his back as he was slashed at from all angles. He could feel his skin ripping open, and knew that if he didn't do something soon that he'd be done for from blood loss.

Deciding to go out on a limb, Kimimaro whipped his tail around, and was satisfied when he felt it connect with a soft object. A cry of pain was heard, and he opened his eyes to see the small mammal that the Suna kunoichi had summoned lying a few feet from him. Kamatari struggled to his feet, clearly injured from the attack from Kimimaro's spiked tail.

"Hmph. A summon who can't take a single hit in battle. How fitting for a lesser ninja from Sunagakure." He raised his tail and lashed out to finish off the animal.

As he brought it down, he only felt dust and dirt beneath him. He looked to see that the summon was no longer where it had been a moment ago, and looked around. Surely it didn't just get up suddenly after sustaining such an injury.

"Are you alright, Weasel-san?"

Kimimaro looked over his shoulder to see Lee holding the injured summon in one arm while crouched low. He was starting to grow weary of this Konoha-nin. The boy couldn't mold chakra for the life of him, according to what he seemed to be brag about, and he was stubborn to the point of it being almost pure recklessness.

"You continue to annoy me." Kimimaro stated as he turned to face Lee fully, "You'll be the first one of your ragtag group that I dispose of."

Lee leaped away as Kimimaro dashed towards him. The Taijutsu specialist was now forced on the defense as he attempted to keep a safe distance and keep the summon in his arms safe. This proved to be much more difficult than it normally would be for the bowl-cut boy, seeing as he had just opened the fifth gate and was trying to maintain his strength and hold a weasel in his hands.

So it came as no surprise to Lee when he was batted away by Kimimaro's tail, resulting in a large dent in the sides of one of the trees.

Kimimaro would have continued towards the downed Genin, but his heightened senses told him to move. He turned around and took a step back as Neji's palm grazed against his neck. The Hyuuga spun on his heel and engaged the bone user directly. While the Gentle Fist was a deadly style to go head-to-head with, Kimimaro had the advantage of his enhanced strength and the fact that Neji was suffering from a leg injury, limiting his movements.

Unfortunately, Kimimaro wasn't given the chance to capitalize on such an advantage. A powerful buffet of wind blasted into his back, and he was pushed back a few feet. Only thanks to his quick thinking and embedding his tail into the ground did he manage to avoid getting lifted into the air.

"Okay, looks like you're not all brawn after all." Temari commented as she landed beside Neji. She turned behind her for a moment, looking to Lee and Kamatari, "Are the two of you okay?"

Kamatari groaned, "Yeah...but I think grasshopper over here is out cold." The small weasel lifted off the air, grabbing his sickle as he did so. He landed on Temari's shoulder, "He's not a pushover. Wish you would have told me earlier how strong he is."

"Sorry." Temari apologized as she turned to Kimimaro, "You can leave this fight to me."

Kamatari raised a visible eyebrow, "With that guy?" He shook his head, "Naruto wouldn't like that, even if you're strong."

"Fine. Keep your guard up though." Temari snapped her fan open again as Kamatari leaped off her shoulder and into the air, "Neji, let's finish this guy off already."

"Music to my ears." Neji replied, "I'll take lead."

"Fair enough, I'll cover your six." Temari answered.

Neji smirked, "No need. The Byakugan has no blind spot. Just give me support. That's all I need."

With no further words spoken between the two, Neji dashed on to fight Kimimaro head on. He flipped over the Oto-nin's tail and blocked a kick, pushing it to the side before slamming a palm into Kimimaro's shoulder.

Pain shot through the bone user's body as he felt Neji's chakra forcibly inject itself into his system. He felt his arm becoming numb, but willed himself to keep his limb moving. He grew bones out of either of his forearms and began to swipe at the Hyuuga, attempting to disembowel the Genin.

Temari kept her fan at ready, waiting for the opportunity to give Neji help. It was hard for her to watch from the sidelines, though, but while she was a long distance fighter, Kimimaro's powered-up form seemed resistant to her wind based attacks.

"I need to catch him off guard." Temari spoke to herself, "He knows that I'm a wind user and fight from a distance, so how...wait..." The blond's eyes lit up, "That's it! Kamatari, I have a plan!"

The weasel looked to her, smirking a bit as he recognized Temari's competitive grin appearing on her face, "Well, let's hear it."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Kidomaru was angry.

No, angry wasn't good enough to describe his mood right now.

Kidomaru was homicidally enraged.

No matter what he did, the three ninja he was fighting were able to balance each other out. Tayuya's Genjutsu was aggravatingly powerful, considering it required that he on he only needed to hear it for it to work. Damn battle flutes. Seriously, she was always saying that she didn't need to work on her other weapon skills when she had her flute. While he always recalled scoffing at such a claim, he was beginning to understand her rather arrogant claim.

If Genjutsu wasn't enough, that other kunoichi with the hair buns was a weapons' specialist. Not just projectiles, either. Staffs, katanas, nunchaku, ulaks, tonfa, and a plethora of close range weapons that he was pretty sure he had never seen before. She was deadly accurate with them too. He had never seen so many of his spiders get killed in such a short amount of time.

The icing on his cake of ill luck, however, was the Aburame boy. He had heard of the clan that uses bugs. He was certain he wouldn't run into any of the ninja from said clan, however. They weren't combat specialists. Apparently he was wrong. This guy was throwing his entire plan to catch the three in his webbing out the window with those damn chakra-feeding bugs of his!

Now, Kidomaru was in his second stage of the Curse Mark. He needed all the power he could; these three were deadly together.

"Heh, going to your full power already, bastard?" Tayuya taunted, "Kind of sad, really. I've improved so much since I joined Konoha, but in the same amount of time you've hardly gotten any better at fighting."

Kidomaru's three eyes he now had due to the Curse Mark's influence narrowed as he growled in annoyance, "Tch, big talk coming from a weakling like you, Tayuya. I noticed you haven't tapped into your mark's powers at all. Don't tell me you actually think you can beat me with what you have in your normal state."

Tayuya snickered, "You got me, Kidomaru." She pocketed her flute, "Not only that, but I destroyed that contract Orochimaru gave me for those Doki. I'm severing all ties I have with that freak."

Kidomaru laughed, "You act like that'll change anything! You're still the same person, Tayuya! You've killed people since the day Orochimaru showed us how to hold a kunai!" He grinned as he noticed Tayuya's scowl, "What makes you think that these Leaf heads will let you off that easily for spying on their village? On the off chance that you somehow survive this fight, they'll still probably imprison you for being a spy!"

"Don't listen to him, Tayuya."

The redhead turned to her side to see Tenten placing a hand on her shoulder, "Tenten..."

"Otogakure may have once been your home, and you may have been sent to us to spy on our village...but you didn't." The weapons' mistress smiled a little, "You've become one of our comrades, and a friend to all of us."

"She's right, Tayuya." Shino spoke quietly, "Konoha ninja don't abandon each other. We're not going to forget what you risked in giving us information on Otogakure."

"That's right; you've helped us, Tayuya. Besides...who's going to keep Ino from doing something stupid when we go downtown on the weekends?"

Tayuya bit her lower lip for a moment before letting out a small chuckle, perhaps a bit forced, but she still had a genuine smile, "Thanks you guys." She looked back up to Kidomaru, who was hanging from one of his threads, "Last chance to give up, Kidomaru, though I know it's pointless to offer it to you."

Kidomaru snickered, "Damn straight it is." He chucked several hooks made of the synthesized material he called sticky gold. The material was made of his webbing, along with spit and sweat. It supposedly was hard enough to shoot through trees, and according to Tayuya, could be molded into various shapes and forms.

The trio leaped in different directions, hoping to keep the web-maker from catching them all at once and forcing him on the defense. Kidomaru did likewise and jumped up to the cover of the canopy.

Kidomaru's three eyes scanned his surrounding as he held his bowstring with one hand while his two feet pushed at the bow while he notched an arrow.

_"Just give me a target...I'll have them down before they realize what hit them."_ the Oto-nin thought as he looked around.

Then he saw the Aburame boy hop onto a branch no more than forty yards from him. He grinned as he pulled his bow taut, "Like shooting fish in a bucket."

The arrow flew with incredible speed, plunging through Shino before the boy could even register what happened. Kidomaru grinned sadistically as Shino fell to the ground like a rock...

...then burst into a cloud of insects.

_Fwoosh!_

Kidomaru leaped into the air as a gigantic shuriken almost cut off his ankles. He quickly twisted to the side as a salvo of shuriken flew past him. He bit down in pain as he felt a few plant themselves in his right leg, but luckily none of them went in too deep. The web-making Oto-nin landed on a branch, nursing his right leg and pulling out the shuriken before spitting onto the wound with his golden-colored material, clotting up the wound.

Tenten landed on a branch across from him, a small kodachi in her hand and a handful of shuriken in the other, "You know, it's not good to make me miss."

Kidomaru just scoffed, "Tch, you wouldn't have stood a chance on sneaking up on me if it were _just_ you fighting me. There's nothing special about throwing shuriken, especially from a weak kunoichi like you."

Tenten's eyes flashed dangerously, a small smile tugging on her lips, "That so?" She looked to the bow in Kidomaru's hand, "That bow is obviously a very strong one, judging by the fact that you had to pull on the string while pushing it with your feet. Something like that is obviously custom design for your type of body frame. Obviously that statement's true, seeing as you made it out of that weird spit stuff of yours. The bow is perfect for sniping from incredibly long distances, and with those arrows you make from the same material, it stands to do a great deal of damage."

"What's your point?" Kidomaru asked, "I don't need some stupid Leaf head to tell me what my weapon is good for."

Tenten shook her head, "You're a long range fighter. Judging from the fact that you've been keeping your distance from us the whole time, you're weak in close combat situations." She raised the hand holding her shuriken and smirked, "I, on the other hand, have purposefully trained myself in both close and long range fighting. Not only that, but I can easily tell that you're a specialist."

Kidomaru growled before chucking a few kunai from his pouch at her. Tenten simply deflected the weapons with her kodachi before continuing, "While it's good to have a strength, you're too reliant on keeping the distance between your opponents."

The Sound-nin laughed, "While don't you come here and prove me otherwise, bitch? I'll make you eat those words while I use you for target practice, how does that sound?"

The weapons' mistress shrugged, "I would, but Tayuya's already beaten me to you."

Moment's later, two hands shot out from the trunk of the tree that Kidomaru was standing on, grabbing a hold of the Oto-nin. He could hear a familiar cackle behind him, the feel of warm breath on his ears, "You know, Kidomaru, I never told you this, but I liked you best out of the group. You at least had brains."

Kidomaru felt cold steel pressed against the back of his neck. He chuckled with amusement, "You plan on killing me, huh? Strange, I never recalled you being someone who would expose themselves to the enemy." He risked turning his neck slightly so he could catch the red hair within his peripherals, "Konoha's made you soft, Tayuya."

An elbow slammed into the kunoichi's stomach, and sent her crashing into the tree. Tenten, not wanting to risk their opportunity to take out the enemy, hurled several shuriken at the Oto-nin. He leaped up, avoiding the weaponry and giving himself some distance.

"You're not getting away."

Kidomaru looked up as he grabbed a hold of the tree with chakra, only to see a blanket of those damned insects fly into him. He screamed in anger and pain as he was plagued with continuous biting, the chakra draining from his system. He soon felt his grip on the tree slip, and he fell from his perch. The branches of the massive trees cracked under his weight as he fell, breaking several bones in the process. By the time he hit ground, he had lost his cursed state and was breathing weakly.

The three shinobi landed on the ground beside him, and he knew right then and there that he was done for. Shino drew his insects back to him and placed his hands back in his pockets, "You underestimated our team work, and fell for our trap because of it." The Aburame stated calmly, "Had you been more attentive to the three of us, you may have noticed that I had been hiding in the background while Tenten and Tayuya kept your attention focused on them."

Kidomaru seemed not to be concerned with the Aburame's words. Instead he looked to Tayuya, and spoke as blood dribbled from his mouth, "Seems like you got out of Otogakure, Tayuya."

Tayuya's eyes softened for a moment before she looked to the others, "Go on ahead and get to the others. I'll..." She took a kunai from her pouch, and held it tightly, "...finish things."

Tenten and Shino said nothing, giving her a slow nod before jumping on ahead. As soon as they were out of sight, Tayuya continued, "I'll make it quick, Kidomaru."

"Heh, screw you, Tayuya." Kidomaru laughed before breaking into a fit of sickening coughs, "I don't need your mercy. I'm already dead as it is. Kabuto's not going to take any time out of his schedule to get over here and heal me."

Tayuya closed her eyes, "You shouldn't have tried to fight me."

"What was I..." another fit of coughs, "...supposed to do, leave you to Kimimaro?" His teeth were stained red now, "I think I cracked a few ribs, maybe punctured an organ. Not only that, but my chakra reserves are gone now. Shit..." He was starting to feel cold, "Just kill me and get it over with. You're the free one of our group now."

Tayuya nodded; though none of them had ever said it out loud, Sakon and Ukon, Kidomaru, Jirobou, as well as she, never planned on staying with Oto forever. The Curse Marks kind of prevented them from ever getting away, but they could always see a seal master or somehow find a way to suppress the effects. Tayuya herself had spoken to Kakashi before leaving, asking that as soon as this mission was over that he seal away her mark like he did with Sasuke.

"He's doing this on his own, you know." Kidomaru stated in a whisper, "He's chosen revenge, and he's too far to be 'saved' by your little friends." He shook as he let out a weak hacking cough, "If you plan on saving him, you better be ready to bring him within an inch of death."

"Naruto will be able to stop him." Tayuya stated, "Everyone believes in him. I will too."

Kidomaru looked at her for a moment before chuckling, "I envy you, Tayuya. You were chosen to be the spy because Kimimaro decided to become our new leader. We figured you'd be the best at infiltrating and blending in. You apparently did that rather well...almost too well, seeing as you're fighting us now." He grinned as Tayuya's eyes became shadowed by her bangs, "If you plan on staying a Leaf-nin, you better be ready to fight off assassinations ordered by Orochimaru at any time. You're a loose-end, and a dangerous one at that. He'll want you dead..."

"I know."

"Figures." Kidomaru's voice was incredibly raw now, obviously he was losing his ability to breath with what must have been the ruptured internal organs, "Don't waste your freedom,then..."

Kidomaru was silent after that. His eyes became clouded as he looked up to the sky while his smirk remained on his face. Tayuya grit her teeth before holding her kunai tight and throwing it at his throat. She wasn't willing to chance the possibility of him somehow making a comeback or be revived.

"Later, Kidomaru." Tayuya said hollowly. She went through a series of hand seals before performing a quick Katon, incinerating his body. If the ANBU asked why, she would simply say that he tried to make one last attack on her, so she decided to make for certain that he was dead.

Kidomaru always said he wanted to die without leaving a body anyway. She supposed she could honor that much from her ex-teammate.

~o~o~o~o~o~

A fist collided with a jaw.

Shuriken sliced through fabric.

Sweat was stinging the eyes.

Rocks cracked under strengthened punches and kicks.

Naruto and Sasuke stood on the surface of the rising and falling waves of water a short distance away from the waterfall that stood between the two statues of the Valley of the End. The boys had been at it for the past five minutes now, which was quite a long time considering the sheer amount of energy they were expending as they fought.

The blond easily had Sasuke beat in chakra quantities, but Sasuke was better at control and conservation of his power supply. Still, when it came to endurance, few could beat Naruto Uzumaki.

"Well...looks like we're reaching a stalemate, eh, Naruto?" Sasuke smirked while wiping away some blood from his mouth while Naruto rubbed at a slowly swelling cheek, "Though...we're both a lot stronger than we let on."

Naruto growled, "You don't mean that-?"

Sasuke answered Naruto's question by drawing upon the Curse Mark. He chuckled as Naruto's expression turned into an angry scowl, "Let's turn this up a notch."

Sasuke burst forward, water spraying into the air as Naruto got into a stance. The raven haired youth activated his kekkai genkai and smirked as he was able to see the pathway of Naruto's left hook. He stopped short and grabbed a hold of the blond's wrist while pulling him down and kneeing him in the gut.

"Oof!" Naruto felt pain stab him in the abs as he wrenched his hand free of Sasuke's powerful grip, "Bastard, you'll stoop down to that snake's level and use his stupid mark?"

"This is _my_ power now, Naruto." Sasuke quickly channeled through a few seals before blasting out a stream of flames. Naruto leaped back as the wall of fire nearly nearly burned his face. As steam rose up from water's surface.

Then he saw it. A ball of light, sparking, crackling with power.

"That attack again..." Naruto thought to himself. The blanket of steam was ripped apart as Sasuke charged forward, Chidori in hand.

What happened next was practically slow motion for Sasuke. He could see the pathway of Naruto's movements, and while he _knew_ where Naruto was going, trying to keep up with his speed was another ball game entirely.

The Sharingan tracked the blond as he backed away, and Sasuke was able to see Naruto's predicted pathway as he moved to leap to the left and jump away. He could wait until Naruto landed and catch him then-wait, what was Naruto doing?

Sasuke watched as a ball of chakra formed in his rival's hands. It seemed to be spinning from what the Sharingan was telling the Uchiha. How did he get that to happen with one hand? He heard that he was getting special training from Jiraiya, so maybe this was one of the results from that training?

While Naruto held the Rasengan in one hand, he created a single clone with his other. Sasuke watched with his enhanced vision as the clone grabbed a hold of its creators. The Uchiha's eyes widened as he saw what was unfolding before it even happened. He grit his teeth, increasing his speed as he leaped into the air.

"Naruto!"

Naruto was flung by the clone towards his raven haired target, "Sasuke!"

Both boys extended their arms forward, jutsu in their right hands ready. A blast of chakra crashed over the water as Rasengan met Chidori, sending waves towards either side of the rocky walls of the water-filled valley.

_"How? How does he have this much power? I even gained a boost in chakra and strength, but he still..."_ Sasuke's eyes spun wildly as he pushed the Chidori closer to Naruto. The blond responded by doing the same.

Powerful waves of energy sent the two boys flying in either direction. Naruto gripped his hand, feeling the stinging sensation of electricity running through his arm. Despite how much he hated to admit it, Sasuke's Curse Mark gave him a serious power boost. Naruto was going to have to be more careful if he planned on stopping him and making it out alive.

A volley of fireballs made their way to Naruto as he dashed off to the his left. Sasuke continued to shoot at Naruto with incredible speed. Channeling chakra into his feet, the blond increased speed and began to practically glide across the water's surface, taking a step every several feet as he tried to stay ahead of the fire jutsu.

Sasuke ceased firing his barrage of fire bullets as Naruto began to make his way to the Uchiha.

_"Just so as long as I keep the Sharingan active, and keep my distance from him, I can win this. Naruto's fast, but moving at that speed has its disadvantages."_

Sasuke waited until Naruto was only a few seconds from him, and took in a deep breath before blasting out a plume of flames. Naruto's eyes widened, and he began to skid on the water while attempting to stop. He was hit dead on by the fireball before it burst, sending him back while flames spread across his clothing. He cried in pain while his skin began to burn, and instinctively dived into the water, biting down on the feel of the cool water hitting his scorched skin.

_ "He...he was trying to kill me..." _Naruto thought. That ball of fire would have probably ended him had he not been fighting on water. Naruto sank deeper into the water, feeling his strength lessening as his brain began to catch up with his body's adrenaline rush. The felt like he was being pressed by dozens of firebrands at once in every spot that had exposed skin.

_"I guess Sasuke's dead-set on going to Orochimaru's..." _Naruto looked up to the water's surface as he slowly began to swim back up,_ "...alright fox...let's do this."_

~o~o~o~o~o~

Shikamaru winced in pain as he leaned against a tree. That bastard Kabuto was a lot more dangerous than he let on. He looked at his leg, and could feel a pain equivalent to several knives being dug into his muscle run through his knee and upper thigh.

"Damn medical jutsu..." Shikamaru grumbled as he drew out a kunai. Gaara was currently engaging Kabuto several dozen yards away, giving the Nara plenty of area to think out a plan. He dug into another pocket of his weapons' pouch, and felt a few slips of exploding tags graze his fingers.

_"Gaara's sand automatically protects him from all attacks...right?"_ Shikamaru thought, _"If I can catch Kabuto in a trap while he's not looking..." _He pulled out a spool of wire, "I hope this works..."

Meanwhile, Gaara was currently at a stalemate with the medic-nin of Otogakure. While Gaara was by far the stronger of the two combatants in terms of sheer power and offensive jutsu, Kabuto had experience and prowess on his side.

Gaara formed several seals before he slammed his right hand into the ground, and dozens of pebble sized pieces of earth rose up from the soil. He thrust his left hand forward, and the earthen projectiles cut through the air.

_"Doton, huh? Looks like Jiraiya managed to teach the one-trick pony of Suna a trick or two after all..." _Kabuto leaped into the air, only a second before the numerous chunks of earth embedded themselves into the trees and nearby rocks, _"The technique's weakness is too big, though. The time create those earth-bullets is enough time for me to get in and kill him...that would be the case if it wasn't for that damned sand of his."_

Gaara's facial expression turned into the slightest smirk, however as he kept his hand raised, "Got you."

Kabuto never managed to inquire as to what the redhead was talking about, for an explosion went off behind him, and the silver-haired shinobi was greeted by the feeling of jagged rock piercing his skin as he turned around.

"Gahhh! Damn it!" Kabuto landed on the ground, bleeding profusely as he began to pull the chunks of rock from his skin, "Heheh...okay, not bad, Gaara. I guess I took you too lightly there." He raised his other hand and channeled healing chakra into it before placing it over his face and neck. Within seconds, the wounds marring his face were gone. He began to do the same to his shoulder and torso, but Gaara wouldn't have any of that.

Gaara dashed forward while creating several seals before several Sand Clones on either side of him. They dashed forward while Gaara leaped into the air, forming several Suna Shuriken in either of his hands before throwing them towards the enemy.

Kabuto cursed while jumping back, avoiding the granular weaponry. He caught one of the Suna Bunshin with his hand and quickly dispatched it with a swipe of a chakra scalpel, then spun to face two more behind him and dispatched them with a second slashing motion of his medical jutsu.

The sand user frowned as he watched his clones being taken out like an Academy student fighting an elite Jounin. The man was good at keeping his guard up, and any injuries he sustained were quickly repaired with that medical jutsu of his.

_"I'll just have to overwhelm him, then."_ Gaara thought, and began to channel chakra into his hands. Sand began to swirl out of his gourds, _"Using this technique is risky...Jiraiya-sensei said I shouldn't use it quite yet, but..."_

Kabuto cocked an eyebrow as he disposed of the last of the clones, "Hoho, that's quite a lot of chakra you're releasing there, Gaara-kun."

Gaara just went through about a dozen seals before raising his left arm in front of his face as though he was shielding himself while his right palm was thrust forward, "Don't try to block this. Don't even try to counter it." A vortex of sand began to form in his hands while the ground in his immediate vicinity began to crack, "_**Subaku**_-"

The sound of metal cutting through the air cut Gaara off, and he saw over fifty kunai fly into the ground around the two shinobi. He noticed the kunai had ninja wire tied their handles, and tied to those wires were numerous explosive notes.

The sound of feet landing behind Gaara alerted him that Shikamaru had reentered the battle. The boy had his hands in a seal, as though he was ready to release a technique.

"Gaara, when I tell you to, cover us in a dome of sand."

Gaara stopped whatever jutsu he was about to perform on Kabuto, and instead looked to the Konoha-nin's feet. A black tendril had sprouted out from Shikamaru's feet over the shadows created by the wires, and was currently holding Kabuto in place.

"I knew I should have killed you first. Well done, Shikamaru. You're definitely worthy of the Chuunin title." Kabuto said with an unsettling smile on his face.

Shikamaru made no comment, instead turning to Gaara, "Now!"

A dome covered the two Chuunin as the Nara boy released the _**Kagemane no Jutsu**_ and formed a second seal within the blink of an eye, "Kai!"

The dome of sand shook as a deafening roar was heard from outside of their protective shell. A moment passed before Gaara shot a look to the Nara, which he guessed was the closest thing to pure shock that the sand user had to offer, "_How_ many explosives did you use?"

Shikamaru groaned, "I guess it was kind of overkill, huh?" His usually lazy look turned to annoyed as Gaara quirked an eyebrow, "One-hundred and thirty D-class tags, yeesh. Will you drop it already?"

"...fifteen would have been enough to take him out and possibly bring him back in critical condition to Konoha for questioning."

"We were never ordered to take prisoners." Shikamaru defended as the dome of sand fell apart.

The smell of smoke and ash filled their nostrils, and the two looked around to see what could be described as utter destruction within a thirty yard radius of them.

"...I hope you didn't pay for all those tags." Gaara commented.

Shikamaru let out a sigh, "Yeah, unfortunately. It's a pain to draw up all the seals, anyway."

The two boys stepped over a charred log towards the spot where Kabuto had been last standing. There was a heap of something smoking lying on the ground, and it smelt of burning flesh. The Nara studied for a moment before tipping over with his foot.

"Looks like he's dead."

"That's not him."

Shikamaru gave Gaara an incredulous look, "Sure it is. Look, he's-"

"It's a Genjutsu." Gaara stated, and put his hands into a seal, "Kai!"

The crisp and smoking body of Kabuto Yakushi slowly changed shape, and soon they were looking at what appeared to be a random Otogakure ninja.

Shikamaru's eyes widened, "H-he used...Kawarimi with one of his own comrades?"

"From the looks of it, they were already dead." Gaara noted, pointing at the slit throat, "Whether it was one of us that killed him, or...him...I'm not sure."

Shikamaru pulled a kunai out of his pouch, "So that bastard is still around here."

Gaara shook his head, "He probably got out of here when the explosions went off. He must have been prepared for something like this. After all, he was a spy in Konoha for quite some time. He probably has intelligence on a lot of the shinobi of Konoha, possibly even Sunagakure."

"Shit, well that's just great." The Nara sighed while looking ahead, "Let's keep moving. I'm getting a weird feeling from the direction that Naruto was last heading toward."

While he never said anything, Gaara knew all too well what Shikamaru was talking about.

Naruto was drawing on the Kyuubi's power. He hadn't felt this much of the Kyuubi's chakra since he and Naruto had first met...

"Right. Let's go."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Sasuke didn't like the fact that the water beneath him was beginning to steam. Nor did he like the fact that it was starting to bubble. As such, his instincts told him to move, and not a moment too soon. Just as he leaped away, a blast of high-pressure air shot out from beneath the water's surface, sending up a spray of mist as waves formed from the powerful jutsu cast by Naruto.

The Sharingan could see the glow of Naruto's chakra through the mist now, but there was something different this time.

"Finally called upon the Kyuubi, huh?" Sasuke smirked, "About time you took me seriously."

Naruto's single tail waved behind him, "Can it, teme." Sharpened canines were now visible, as well as elongated fingernails and much darker whisker-marks, "Only one of us is coming out of this fight a winner, and I've never been good at giving in when it comes to a fight."

The Uchiha loosened his stance for a moment, and untied his hitai-ate. He held it in his hands before producing a kunai, then made a quick slash across the emblem before tossing it off onto the shore, "Prove it, then, dobe."

Sasuke would later regret egging Naruto on like that. The water seemed to part in either direction as the blond blur rocketed towards him. A hand grabbed hold of the Uchiha's face, and he felt something hard crash into him from behind.

Naruto dragged his rival's face against the rocky surface before throwing him over his shoulder and letting him hit the shoreline. As the dust cleared, Naruto growled in annoyance as a log lay in Sasuke's place.

Several shuriken whizzed centimeters from the blond's face, and he flipped back as a stream of fire hit the water's surface, creating a screen of steam. A moment later, Naruto felt a foot connect with his chin, followed by a heel to the side of the head. The Jinchuuriki barely had time to register as a kunai brushed against his chest, creating a large tear across his Chuunin vest.

The Uchiha's attack was halted by a quick roundhouse that sent him skidding several feet across the water. Already Naruto's wounds were healing up, and he looked to be almost unaffected by the damage that had been dealt to him.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sasuke channeled more of the foul chakra through his body before dashing forward. He grabbed a hold of Naruto's arms while drawing power up through his core, making seals with his other hand.

Naruto's red irises widened. Sasuke was going to blast him with a Katon from point-blank?

"In your dreams, Sasuke!" Naruto roared, and quickly head butted Sasuke, making him lose the focus he had over his jutsu. The blond wrenched his hands free of Sasuke's grip, and decked him in the jaw before leaping back, a tail of red chakra wagging behind him lazily, "I won't fall for something like that, Sasuke."

Sasuke groaned as he felt his bruised nose and face swelling. Oh well, it was of little consequence. He could still see out of either eye, and that was what mattered. The aura of purple chakra swirled around him as his power grew, "Looks like we're both a lot stronger than we've been letting show, right Naruto?"

"What are you planning, Sasuke?" Naruto spoke, sensing a sudden peaking in the Uchiha's chakra, "How much did that freak change you with that damn mark?"

"I'll show you." Sasuke replied, his eyes suddenly darkening to a black color, his irises turning a dull yellow hue, "Kyuubi or not, you won't last against me if I use this power to its _fullest_."

Naruto's mouth opened slightly as he watched his friend begin to transform before his very eyes. Hair grew and became a lighter shade. The flame-like markings of the Curse Mark faded as the Uchiha's skin darkened, while a strange marking appeared on his forehead. For the finishing touch, hand-like projections sprouted from his back, imitating wings of sorts.

Sasuke let out a chuckle, which soon became a low laugh, then grew in volume. He leered at Naruto while a smirk formed on his face, "You see? This power gives me the strength I need to kill my brother! I don't need Konoha!"

Naruto didn't know what to think; Sasuke was either under the influence of the mark, or he was losing it for real. He hoped it was the former of the two...

"...you really have hit rock bottom." Naruto commented, snarling a bit while Sasuke got into a stance.

"No, I've ascended past you, Naruto. I've outgrown Konoha. This is my fate." the Uchiha did a complete one-eighty, his demeanor now calm, "You don't understand, and I can't blame you..."

"I do more than you think. I know the pain of being alone. The pain of-"

"I had a family, Naruto! They were taken from me, by my brother of all people!" Sasuke shouted fiercely, "Don't try to sympathize with me!"

"...have it your way, then."

Naruto thrust a palm forward, a stream of air rushing towards Sharingan user. Sasuke shielded his face with his wing-like appendages. He leaped away as he felt Naruto's presence close in on him, lifting off into the air. He wasn't quite sure how he managed to fly so soon, it felt almost instinctual.

Shaking his head, Sasuke's eyes focused on Naruto, who was glaring at him from below.

"Hn. He may be fast, but even he can't fl-"

A red claw of chakra flew towards the Uchiha, and Sasuke quickly dropped down before hanging a hard right and avoiding a salvo of shuriken. Channeling chakra into his hands, sparks formed as he grazed his hands against the water's surface while making his way towards the blond. Streams of electrical energy made their way towards him, crackling with all the power that Sasuke had been able to muster.

"What is...graaaaah!" Naruto cried out in anger as jolts of electricity surged through his chakra insulated body. Even with the Kyuubi's chakra coat, it still hurt like hell. He forced open an eye, only to see Sasuke raising his Chidori, making a second attempt to ram the jutsu into his body.

Naruto forced more of the Kyuubi's chakra into his body, and his muscles regained control. Irises flashed a deep red before Naruto let out a wave of the bijuu's raw power, a primal battle cry escaping his lips as he did so.

"_**Hraaaaaaaaaaagh!**_"

Sasuke was knocked out of the air, overwhelmed by the blast Naruto had emitted. He landed on his feet while maintaining the Chidori in his hands. As he laid his eyes upon Naruto, a smirk formed on his lips.

"Two tails, huh?"

Naruto was breathing heavily while a second tail appeared alongside his first. He winced as the burning sensation that always accompanied Kyuubi's power coursed through his veins.

"Enough of this crap, Sasuke..." Naruto formed another Rasengan, this time it was coated in the wicked red light of the Kyuubi, "...I'm taking you down...now..."

Sasuke's smirk disappeared, "Bring it." He powered up his Chidori until it was almost an unnatural white color, with a black bolts of electricity crackling off his hand, "Let's finish this."

Naruto and Sasuke both sprinted forward, waves forming as they made their way towards their target. By now the air was saturated with two very oppressive forces, either clashing for dominance. One belonged to one of the most powerful tailed chakra beasts known to man, the other the result of numerous forbidden experiments that made the user a true force of destruction.

_Fwish!_

Naruto saw something from the corner of his eye, and felt a stabbing pain penetrate his body in the side. He lost his footing and fell hard, and before he could get up, more pain blossomed in his legs and right arm. He grit his teeth and looked to his arm, only to see a bony projection sticking out of his ribs. Several smaller bony objects were sticking out of his other wounds, but they appeared to be of similar origin.

Sasuke stopped abruptly as the blond fell, his chakra coat weakening suddenly. His eyes followed the direction that the bony projectiles had come from, only to see Kimimaro standing a short distance away, hand raised and aimed at Naruto.

"Good work, Kimimaro."

Whirling around quickly, Sasuke found himself face to face with Kabuto Yakushi. The Uchiha's face turned from shock to a scowl, "What the hell do you two think you're doing? This is _our_ fight."

Kabuto smiled, "Sorry, Sasuke, but we can't afford to waste anymore time here. Konoha's ANBU are hot on our trail, and we barely managed to get out of here with those three retrieval teams following us as well." Orochimaru's right hand man adjusted his glasses before continuing, "Finish Naruto off now and we'll have one less obstacle to worry about later. There's a team of Oto-nin waiting for us to provide back up if we need it, but I'd rather us not have any further setbacks if possible."

The Sharingan spun slowly as they studied the bespectacled shinobi, "Fine. Get moving, I'll be with you two shortly."

Kimimaro spoke, and Sasuke took note that his voice was weaker than when he had first met the leader of the Sound Four, "Sasuke, we cannot-"

"I said _go_. I'll finish this idiot off quickly. It's my job, and mine alone. Don't interfere." Sasuke spoke sternly, his voice not leaving any room for argument. His eyes were locked with the bone user, and he noticed the faint smear of red on Kimimaro's lips. Blood, or so he assumed. He ignored it for now, and turned back to the floating form of Naruto.

Kabuto studied the Uchiha a moment longer before turning to Kimimaro, "Let's go. We'll let him have his fun for now. Besides, we have to take a look at that wound you received from that Suna girl."

"..." Kimimaro said nothing further, and simply leaped away with Kabuto.

Sasuke's body regressed to normal, and he slowly walked towards his fallen friend.

It disgusted him. Kimimaro interfered with their fight, and Naruto was blindsided by a sneak attack. It seemed that while Naruto's chakra coat was able to buffer against chakra-based techniques, solid objects like steel-hard bone still could punch through and injure the blond.

Tough luck on Naruto's part. That was the way of the ninja, though. No use complaining.

He lifted Naruto up by the collar, and was surprised to see Naruto was still breathing, "Hn. Even after all the fighting we did, you're still refusing to quit."

The Uchiha's hand clenched into a fist tightened as his hold over Naruto's collar, "If you can still hear me, well..." He was quiet for several moments before he continued, "...we're not finished, dobe. Far from it. To hell with what Kabuto says, I'm not killing you without a fair fight. Stupid, I know...but you deserve better, as much as I hate to admit it. This battle is a draw, got it?"

Naruto's eyes flickered open suddenly. The blond could barely keep focus as he looked at Sasuke, "S-Sas...ke?"

The Uchiha channeled a little chakra into his hands, "This will insure that no one has any doubts about the path I've taken, Naruto. Sorry...this is going to hurt, but it'll get the message across."

Naruto let out a hoarse scream as Sasuke plunged a Chidori through his left shoulder, channeling electrical current through the blond's body as he did so. Sharingan stayed focused on Naruto as he watched the agony in his long time rival and dear friends reflect in his blue eyes. He eventually stopped channeling chakra through the blond, and held him up higher.

"Don't die, dobe. Today marks the day that we end our friendship, and begin our new path as enemies." Sasuke spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. Despite the pain, Naruto listened, shaking as he felt his body already beginning to once again repair itself, "You're the young hero of Konoha...and I'm the traitorous Uchiha who abandoned his home for revenge. I'll fulfill that role if I must." He pulled Naruto closer, and spoke into the blond's ear, "If we meet in the battlefield, be prepared to kill me. I'll be doing the same when we meet again."

He threw the blond onto the ground of the nearby shore, and his eyes returned to their usual onyx color. He stared at the quivering form of Naruto, then looked to the bones sticking out from his side. He knelt down and plucked the bone bullets from Naruto's side, "If I remove that long bony spear that Kimimaro shot, it could do some serious damage..." He stood up, "Konoha's forces are a few minutes away from here. I'm sure they'll have medical teams ready to help."

"...Sasuke...you...bastard..."

Shaking his head, Sasuke turned away, "Goodbye, Naruto."

"...don't you...walk 'way, teme!" Naruto choked out, straining to sit up, "I'm...s'ill breathing!"

"Idiot!" Sasuke shouted suddenly, turning around to face the Jinchuuriki, "I'm not going to kill you! I want a fair fight! This battle proves nothing today except that neither of us came out of this the victor! If I kill you, I won't be any better than Itachi! I will _not_ stoop to his level and murder my best friend!"

"Best...frien'?" Naruto whispered. He coughed blood up, and felt his body shaking from the cool rain that had begun to descend upon them. The storm must have sneaked up on them while Sasuke was talking to him, "...you're...coward...teme."

"No. I'm an avenger. I'll do whatever I must to achieve my revenge for the death of my entire clan."

With that, the Uchiha walked off into the downpour. Naruto called his name, but received no reply. Naruto clenched the mud in his hands while screaming to the overcast skies.

"Sasuke!"

He had failed.

Naruto Uzumaki had failed to bring a friend back home, and in turn failed everyone who had tried to help.

That was the last thought he had before passing out from exhaustion and fatigue.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Kakashi, Tayuya, Tenten, Shino, Temari, Gaara, Shikamaru, and several ANBU arrived at the Valley of the End to find Naruto lying against a rock, bleeding and beaten.

Temari had run to the blond's side, feeling the same sinking feeling of dread in her stomach that she felt when Naruto had been sent to the emergency room after the spar with Sasuke.

"Naruto! Naruto's bleeding! We need a medic, now!" She felt her arms shaking as she felt the blond's clammy skin against her hands, "Naruto..." She found her breathing pick up, "Please...not again..."

It took Tenten, Shikamaru, and Tayuya to lead her away from the Jinchuuriki boy while Kakashi and two ANBU medics began to perform first aid on the blond. Luckily one of the medics had several years of experience under his belt, and was able to use medical chakra efficiently enough to mend the worse of Naruto's wounds. By the time the trailing medic team sent out by Tsunade arrived, Naruto had been stabilized, but was still going to need to be brought to the intensive care wing of the Konoha hospital as soon as possible.

Naruto was carried by two medics on a stretcher while the others followed behind. The ANBU claimed that trying to follow Sasuke in this weather would be next to impossible, and by the time the weather let up, any tracks or scent trail would be washed away by the rain.

"Looks like Orochimaru won." Tayuya said somberly to Kakashi as they dashed through the trees, "...I swear, if I ever see that bastard again, I'll castrate him and shove those shriveled prunes of his down his throat until he ends up shi-"

"Tayuya..." Kakashi began, giving her an understanding gaze. The kunoichi looked down for a moment before giving a nod.

"Right...we'll focus on that later..." Tayuya faced to her side to see Temari, a little ways off, her expression unreadable. She wanted to do something to comfort the Suna-kunoichi, but she was pretty sure that right now wasn't a good time to do so.

Eventually they rendezvoused with the remaining teams, all escorted by ANBU. Before they decided to continue on towards Konoha, one of the captains of an ANBU squad approached Kakashi, "Kakashi-senpai, I need to speak with you..."

Kakashi didn't like the feeling he was getting. Most times the ANBU were rather good at keeping their emotions in check, but clearly the hollow tone in the younger ninja's voice meant something bad had happened, "Alright."

The two went a little way's off, and the captain eventually stopped by a large tree, and leaned against it, "These kids have been through a lot...especially that Haruno girl."

"What _about_ Sakura?" Kakashi asked, worry etched in his voice, "Is she alright?"

"Yes, thanks to the young Akimichi boy, Chouji...but...as for him..."

Kakashi's stomach felt like lead, "No...you mean...?"

"I'm sorry, senpai. He was dead before we arrived. Our medics did everything in their power, but...he was completely drained of chakra. Apparently he had taken all three of the Akimichi colored pills, and died shortly after the last one was consumed."

"...I see." Kakashi closed his eye and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm taking blame for this. I was senior captain of this group, and as such, I was in charge of the teams..."

"Senpai...Sakura explained that you were split up by the enemy, so-"

Kakashi looked up, his gaze like cold steel, "No. These Genin and Chuunin went above and beyond the call of duty today. What have I proven that says the same about me? Nothing." He walked off, "Thank you for informing me of Chouji's death. I'll...inform his teammates."

~o~o~o~o~

Ten hours had passed since Naruto was admitted to the I.C.U of Konoha hospital. While he was in bad shape, Tsunade felt a wave of relief wash over her when she saw him coherent and awake. She made a mental note to commend the ANBU medics that had quickly responded to the wounds he had received.

Naruto had been one of the numerous cases that was being brought into the hospital today after the failed attempt to bring back Sasuke Uchiha. Among the others listed on her clipboard were Neji Hyuuga, Hinata Hyuuga, and Temari. Rock Lee had sustained injuries as well from the fight with Kimimaro, but it paled in comparison to what the others had received.

Neji had a minor fracture on his femur, and two broken ribs, along with possible internal bleeding.

Temari had three broken ribs, and laceration along her abdomen that needed stitches. She felt foolish for ignoring such wounds for so long, and took Tsunade's scolding without complaint.

Hinata Hyuuga was a case she would have to worry about later after taking care of the patients that needed more immediate assistance. She was worried for the poor heiress, but her hands were tied at the moment.

If not to make things worse for her, Tsunade had lost one of the young Genin to this mission. While she didn't get to know Chouji Akimichi, she felt a weak pang in her chest when Kakashi gave the report after Naruto had been given full treatment and Temari was stitched up. The Jounin appeared to have a haunted look in his eyes as he spoke, and mentioned something about needing to speak to Sakura before leaving her, sauntering out of the office in a very un-Kakashi-esque manner.

Now Tsunade was checking the vitals of the whisker-marked blond that had been giving her so much stress these past couple of months. While the Kyuubi contributed greatly to his healing abilities, Naruto had a strong will to live, and even Shizune commented that most people brought into the I.C.U didn't have these strong of vitals with less dangerous conditions afflicting them.

"Get better, gaki..." Tsunade spoke quietly while placing the clipboard on it's holder at the foot of his bed. She quietly walked out of the room, shutting the door with a soft click. The Godaime walked down the hall to Temari's room, and looked through her window to see the kunoichi sleeping soundly as well. No surprise, really. They had all been through a lot. They'd need all the rest to recover from the wounds, both physical and psychological, that they had gained from the fighting.

"Yosh, that's the way, Neji. Do not let your youth be held back by these minor injuries."

Tsunade looked down the hall to see Neji Hyuuga in a wheelchair, using his own arms to roll himself down the corridor while Rock Lee walked alongside him.

"Neji, I take it you're feeling better?"

The Hyuuga looked to Tsunade, and gave her a quick nod, "Yes, Hokage-sama. I was getting restless sitting in my room, so I took up Lee's offer to go for a walk around the garden outside the hospital...although, I cannot walk quite yet. So one of the nurses gave me this wheelchair."

While the nurturing part of her wanted to tell him to go back to his bed and rest, the kunoichi within her could relate to his situation. Luckily the medic-nin within her was able to find a middle ground, "That's fine, but I want you to take it easy, and don't spend too much time out of your bed, alright? You're still recovering."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade gave the two boys a nod before heading down to Hinata's room, which was at the far end of the wing. She gave a light knock, and the quiet voice of Hinata replied with a soft "Come in."

As the Godaime entered, she was met with the sight of Kiba sleeping in a chair near Hinata's bed, snoring peacefully. On the Hyuuga heiress's lap was Akamaru, sleeping soundly as well. Hinata stared in the general direction of the doorway that Tsunade had entered through, and for a moment she was quiet before speaking again, "Um...H-Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade smiled, "It's me, Hinata."

Hinata smiled as well, "Ah, I thought it was you. I heard you talking down the hall to Neji-niisan and Lee. I figured you were heading this way."

While any experienced ninja could hear that far down a hallway if they wished, most didn't act this alert in a hospital. For Hinata to hear so easily...

"Hinata, how well can you hear right now?"

The heiress looked away for a moment before speaking, "W-well...I..." Her finger began to fidget as she looked off in a random direction, "I know for a fact that the young man four doors away from me has very bad diarrhea right now, and that the virus he caught from Rain Country is bad."

"That's true. He said he must have gotten it from one of the surrounding wetlands." Tsunade commented, "Looks like your senses are already trying to compensate for..." She didn't finish her sentence, unsure how Hinata was fairing with the idea of being blind.

"...it's fine, Hokage-sama. I'm blind. I'm just...thankful to be alive..." She frowned while looking down to her hands, "Hokage-sama...h-have their been any blind Hyuuga that...um...continued their career a-as ninja?"

Tsunade frowned, and Hinata seemed to sense the facial expression, for her features darkened, "I never heard of any cases where Hyuuga went blind. Truthfully, I'm not sure, but I don't think there have been any recorded cases."

"I-I see..." Hinata gripped her blanket a little tighter, "Thank you for everything, Hokage-sama."

The Slug Summoner wanted to try and console the Hyuuga girl, but what could she do that hadn't already been done? Hinata knew she was lucky to be alive, and she was dealing with the situation better than she had expected. Then again, Hinata had been trained to be a shinobi. She could just be hiding her feelings underneath that calm exterior.

"I'll be by later with your dinner. Get some rest...and if Kiba gets to be too annoying, let me know. Normally I wouldn't allow anyone in here past visiting hours, but I think he needs this more than you do right now."

The corners of Hinata's lips turned upward, "He stayed by my side until the ANBU arrived. When Kakashi-sensei found us after the fight with those Oto-nin, I was worried that I was going to be in the way, since the others needed their help."

"That would never be true. True Konoha ninja never abandon each other."

"Right..." Hinata's ears picked up the faint breathing of Kiba, "Hokage-sama...c-could you bring food for these two as well?"

"Absolutely." Tsunade grinned, "If you need anything else, let one of the nurses or myself know."

"Thank you." Hinata gave a curt nod before returning her attention—though she couldn't see him—to Akamaru, petting him gently as he continued to nap in her lap.

Shutting the door behind her, Tsunade made her way to her medical office. She opened the door, and shut it behind her before slumping into her chair. It had been a long evening for her, and she knew it was bound to become more difficult before it got better. She knew for a fact that Sakura was currently avoiding everyone. Tayuya and Kakashi had asked almost every single nurse on staff if she had been seen anywhere in the building, and all had said no.

The drawer to her desk opened to reveal a bottle of sake she kept for times of stress like this. She wasn't scheduled to be doing anymore work for the next two hours, so she felt she deserved a short break. She took a swig and felt the smooth rice alcohol go down her throat.

"Long day?"

Tsunade didn't even jump at the sound of Jiraiya's voice, "I thought I might see you soon." She turned around to face her longtime teammate and friend, "Did you get a chance to see Naruto?"

Jiraiya gave a nod before closing his eyes and letting out an exasperated sigh, "How the hell he does it I'll probably never know, but Kyuubi aside, that kid's made of tougher stuff than you or me..." He took an offered swig from Tsunade's bottle and continued, "I wish I had been here. I was just a few villages away, and..." He shook his head, "...these kids...they're going to end up being terrific ninja if they can make it through this."

"The Konoha Eleven...well...there's only ten now...not including Tayuya."

Jiraiya understood, "Chouza and the entire Akimichi clan are feeling the loss, I know that much. It's hard to see people who are typically such a joyful bunch mourning like this."

"His teammates aren't doing that well either." Tsunade added, "Though I think the person who really needs to be talked to right now is Sakura."

"Sakura? The little pinky in Kakashi's team?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she's beating herself up over this, and is too afraid to face either Shikamaru or Ino right now, let alone the others who had been on this mission."

"If you want, I can try to find her and-"

Tsunade shook her head, "No. The girl's got to come to terms with this herself. If she's unable to handle this, well...she probably shouldn't be a ninja."

The Toad Sage had no argument for that. Someone who wasn't able to deal with the death of comrades wouldn't last long in the world of shinobi. He knew this, and Tsunade definitely knew it as well.

"I'm thinking about taking Naruto and Gaara with me for training again."

"Fine," Tsunade replied with a wave while smiling a little, "We all know those two aren't fans of sitting on their asses unless its to read a new scroll."

"Well...I was thinking a long term training mission."

Tsunade paused with her lips to the sake bottle, "Long term?"

"Somewhere between two to three years."

The buxom blond arched an eyebrow while setting her bottle down, "Is this because of Akatsuki?"

"Partially, yes, and to keep Naruto out of sight from Iwa. Have you taken a recent look at the bounty he has?"

Of course she had. The bounty for him dead was enough for a small family to live off of for a few years. If he was captured and brought to Iwa alive, that more than tripled the pay, "Yeah. Looks like Orochimaru decided to let Iwa know of Naruto's heritage after that attempted invasion on Konoha a while back."

"Naruto and Gaara are likely to be placed within the high ranking bingo books of Iwa by the time the war starts. Both have bijuu, and both are extremely talented individuals for their age. One is an Uzumaki, which by itself is enough to send up red flags to other shinobi nations."

Tsunade rubbed her temples for a moment before she groaned, "I suppose this would be for the best. Where do you plan on taking the boys?"

"All over. We won't be staying in one spot for too long. If you need to get in contact with us, use the slugs to get in touch with the toads. Suna has Kamatari, and since Temari and Naruto are the only two existent summoners of his, they'll have a secure way of keeping in contact with each other."

"Good point." Tsunade stood up after placing her bottle back in its drawer, "Well, now I've got to try and convince Naruto that he needs to visibly vanish off the face of the world for a few years with you to everyone who knows him."

"It won't be that long." Jiraiya stated, "I was going to say four years, but with Sasuke going to Orochimaru, something tells me that we won't have the luxury of that much time to work with."

"I've placed Sasuke Uchiha as a missing-nin, officially. We want him back alive, however, unless it can't be helped." Tsunade added while opening the door to her office, "Once word gets out about the last of the Uchiha clan defecting Konoha, the other nations will begin a man-hunt for him, I'm sure of it. The Sharingan isn't infamous to the Elemental Nations for nothing, you know."

"Not Iwagakure. They're allied with Oto." Jiraiya pointed out, and Tsunade seemed to visibly relax upon hearing that.

"Speaking of the Sharingan and Uchiha..." Tsunade added slowly, "Is it true about...?"

"The massacre?"

Tsunade nodded.

"Sensei told you, huh?"

"Yes, and at the worst possible time, I might add." the blond grumbled as they walked down the quiet hallway, "I had no idea that the Uchiha were planning that."

"Not many did until it was almost too late." the Toad Sage sighed, "It's a shame, though. He's a really great kid when you actually get to know him."

"I still can't see him like that...but if what sensei said about the massacre is true...well, I guess there's not much to do but continue to keep the information safe."

The two eventually reached the lobby, and Jiraiya said he had to send out a letter to a contact on information relating to Iwa's movements before tomorrow morning. Tsunade was once again left to herself.

"Damn it...I seriously wonder why I signed up for this job sometimes."

~o~o~o~o~

Itachi had just parted ways with Kisame and was currently en route to Takigakure, where he was to assassinate a member of a Jounin council that was leading the village. Word was that the man had been accepting bribes from Iwagakure. Apparently the council member was a fourteen year veteran Jounin who had helped lead Takigakure's shinobi for almost seven years now. The man was accepting money from Iwa in exchange for providing basic resources to Rock-nin that were passing through the area on their way to Fire Country's borders. While the Waterfall were currently holding a neutral stance in this war that was just starting to unfold, they had long been on friendly terms with Konoha, since they had been providing supplies and the occasional services to the smaller shinobi village at lower costs.

Iwa also wasn't exactly on Taki's good side. Rumors of Rock and Oto-nin stealing from villages in Waterfall were running rampant lately. It was no secret that Otogakure and Iwagakure were allied to each other, so if they continued to let these possible actions by foreign ninja go unchecked, things could get worse for Waterfall Country.

Itachi was currently perched on a rather large tree outside of the home of said Jounin councilmen. The man was single, which was fine with Itachi. Made less work for the Uchiha if there was no family to worry about. The last thing he wanted was to destroy another young child's life.

One time was enough for Itachi.

Itachi quickly made the dog seal, followed by the rat and monkey before placing a single hand on a tree. A puff of smoke was released before a small crow stood before him. It cocked its head to either side before letting out a soft caw.

"Give me a quick layout of the building. I'll wait here for you."

The crow gave cawed once in reply before taking flight, heading off to look over the building. While Itachi was known for possessing many skills and abilities, few knew that he was one of the privileged few that had a contract with the crow clan. They weren't necessarily powerful, but they were excellent at spying and reconnaissance work. The clan seemed to have a lot of respect for the Uchiha.

That and they liked his crow clone technique.

_Poof!_

Itachi turned around to see a scroll near his heels. Itachi pulled out a ration bar while untying the scroll and reading over the contents.

_We're heading out within a week's time. Send me a message when you're available._

Itachi bit into the bar and made a quick hand seal, disintegrating the scroll within seconds and letting the ashes blow into the wind. Well, that answered one of the questions on his mind. Now he just needed to get an idea of how long it would take to take out the first of the several possible traitors of Takigakure.

~o~o~o~o~

It had been two days since the remaining Konoha Eleven and other ninja of the recovery team had returned to Konoha. A service had been held for Chouji, and of course all the members had attended. The Akimichi clan was a family of shinobi that virtually all the citizens of Konoha had come to hold a place in their hearts for ever since the founding days of Konoha. They owned several restaurants, provided food for the orphanages, and gave large shares of the clan's income to charities in Fire Country. Needless to say, seeing the clan all there and mourning was an unusual and discomforting sight for all who had gathered.

Shortly after the service, Gaara had gone to a roof near the Hokage Tower, and was joined by Jiraiya. The white haired member of the Sannin had informed him of his plan for him, Naruto, and Gaara to leave Konoha within a few days time.

"So, where will we be going first?"

"Well, we'll be joining your brother and sister and a few Suna-nin for the first half of their journey through Fire Country, and probably head north from there. I want to have us drop off of the maps of the Elemental Nations for awhile. We might make a detour to Fire Country's capital for a month or so, then go into Iron Country for a few months. They've been a neutral country for decades, and I think we can get some real training done there."

Gaara looked to the Toad Sage, an inquisitive look in his eyes, "Jiraiya-sensei, I honestly would rather stay and fight along with everyone. I'm not too keen on the idea of leaving my brother, sister, and the others to fight on the front lines while Naruto and I stay in hiding."

"Trust me, Gaara, you're not the only one. Naruto put up a huge conniption fit about it as well. It was a good thing Temari was there."

"Nee-san? Why?"

Jiraiya smiled a bit as he looked to the setting sun, "Temari said that we need to protect Naruto now so he can grow stronger. That way when the time is right, he can do his part and stop Akatsuki, as well as stop this war before too many lives are lost."

The redhead looked down below to see civilians and ninja milling about in the late afternoon sun, "I want to be like Naruto as well. I've...done my fair share of harm to others when I was younger. I owe it to everyone that I change."

"Gaara..." Jiraiya began, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, "You're more of a hero than I think you realize. While many may still view you as the Ichibi, like Naruto more and more are starting to see you for the shinobi that you are. You've protected countless lives already with the other kids your age, as well as help stave off Orochimaru's attempts to heal his arms.

"I guess that's true." Gaara agreed, "Still, how much good will I have to do before I've made up for all the bad I've done?"

"I think instead of focusing on the past, Gaara, what you should do instead is look to the future."

The Jinchuuriki boy looked up to his sensei, then ahead once more, "You sounded like Naruto for a moment there."

"Heh, the idiot rubs off on people. What can I say?"

The sand-user gave a nod before standing up, "I'm going to go meditate. I'll be in my hotel room if you need me." With that, he vanished in a whirl of sand.

"It's good to see the boy's outlook on life is improving."

Jiraiya looked over his shoulder, and gave a nod to Baki, "Yeah. The kid's had it probably worse than Naruto in some cases. I'm just glad that he's not trying to be reclusive anymore. I was worried about that being an issue when we left for training."

"About that..." Baki began, "Well...Suna is in need of a new Kazekage. We have several candidates, but Gaara was one of our first choices."

Jiraiya frowned, "Hmph. Let me guess; the council believes that having a Jinchuuriki as their leader will help stave off invasion?"

Baki looked down and shook his head, "I know, but there is an advantage. Gaara's a level-headed kid, and once he's old enough he'd be a perfect leader. The council has very little objection to the training, however. They agree that keeping him safe is a top priority during the war."

"Tch, politics. People always wonder why I declined being Hokage, and yet they can't figure out the number one reason why so many of the kage throughout the ages have hidden liquor cabinets in their offices."

Baki chuckled a bit, "Agreed."

The stood up, "So, did you want to know more about this training mission I'm taking the boys on?"

The veiled Jounin shook his head, "I got enough of the basic information from Tsunade-sama earlier. I just want to let you know that I appreciate what you've done for Gaara. He's found something to apply himself to, and it's shown with the way he carries himself. He's become interested in Fuuinjutsu, and he's been having less problems with the Ichibi from what I've been told by Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro."

"Well, I do what I can." Jiraiya grinned, "So, what is Suna's plan for leadership?"

"We've got a council of elders, as well as a Jounin council to help keep them in check. While the elders have always held the village's interest highest, they can be a bit stubborn about issues. The Jounin council will consist of our highest ranking shinobi, and hold the voice of the shinobi populous. Of course, if we find an eligible candidate Kazekage during the time you're gone with the two, the village will be lead ultimately by that person."

"Sounds like it'll have to do for now, I guess." Jiraiya cracked his neck a bit, "Care to join me for a drink? There's a bar down the road that has sake for dirt cheap."

The Jounin gave a shrug, "May as well. I owe myself a drink after dealing with all the message relaying between Suna and Konoha for the past couple weeks."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Sakura stood by the Memorial Stone, a small white lily in her hands. She had been doing this for about two days now, and would continue to do so for the remainder of the week. She figured that the least she could do was honor Chouji's memory for seven days, maybe make a annual tradition.

While she had always been told in the Academy that she should be prepared to face life and death situations, the truth was that nothing could prepare you for it aside from seeing it yourself. She had come to terms with it just being another harsh reality of the shinobi world.

"Hey, Chouji, it's me again. Figured I'd stop by and give you this." She spun the stem of the lily between her fingers while admiring it's petals, "You know, I never thought much about it, but I'm not the biggest fan of white lilies. They're kind boring. Pretty, but not much color to them. Then again...I like daffodils, and they're white as well." She shook her head while gently placing the lily by the stone's base, "Listen to me babbling like this."

She let out a long and drawn out breath before continuing, "I've decided to continue being a kunoichi. It's not fair to myself or my friends, and I think that I've learned a lot from what we all experienced. I don't know what lies ahead for me, but...well..." She smiled a little before looking over the name of her fallen friend, "Rest in peace, Chouji. Wherever you are now, I'm sure it's a good place."

Turning around, she made her way back home. However, she never noticed the three figures making their way in her direction.

"Sakura?"

The pink haired teen stopped in her tracks and forced her eyes to remain glued to the ground.

_"Oh no. Please, not them, not this soon..."_

"...you were here to visit Chouji too, huh?"

Sakura nodded stiffly, "It's not much, but I figured I can at least do that much for him. He saved me, so I can try to honor his memory the way I know best. Flowers..."

Looking up, Sakura came face to face with Ino, Shikamaru, and Asuma. Her face dropped back to the ground, and she mumbled a quick 'excuse me' before walking around the three.

"Sakura, hold on, please..."

Ino's voice sounded pained, and Sakura couldn't stop herself from halting her movements and turning slowly to face the blond kunoichi.

"Yeah, Ino?"

Ino had tears forming in her eyes now, "Why have you been trying to avoid everyone? Tayuya's been worried sick, and we all were concerned when your mother said she had no idea where you've been for the last couple of days. She had been considering having ANBU search for you had it not been for the fact that they reassured her that they've seen you wandering through the village."

Oh boy, this wasn't good. Truth be told, Sakura had only stopped by her house to change into black at Chouji's funeral, then changed and left. That had been several days ago, and she hadn't returned home since. The young kunoichi typically found herself wandering through the parks of Konoha, buying food when she was hungry, and sleeping on benches. She was afraid to return home, lest she run into people she knew and have to face them and be reminded of who she had let down.

"Sorry. I've...been trying to keep my mind occupied."

Ino took a few steps forward, "Sakura, if this is about...well..."

"Chouji?" Sakura spoke, her eyes meeting Ino's baby blue irises.

"Yes, Chouji...l-look, Sakura, we're all hurting because of Chouji's death, but it wasn't your fault. We _know_ what happened from the ANBU that talked to you, and none of us hold anything against you."

"I...I couldn't do anything for him." Sakura whispered, "How the hell did I get promoted to Chuunin when I can't even protect a single teammate and we've got the enemy outnumbered-"

Two arms wrapped around Sakura, and she felt moisture on her neck suddenly, "Stop that!" Ino breathed while sobbing, "Sakura, you're my friend, and we all care about you, alright? Chouji would hate to see you like this, and we're all here for you."

Sakura was frozen in place, "I-Ino..."

"She's right, Sakura. I can't claim that I'm hurting more than anyone else, but Chouji was my best friend. I know he...that he fought with everything he had, and the fact that you continued to do the same means a lot." spoke Shikamaru, who had been rather silent until now, "Sakura, just...well..." The Nara looked up and sighed, "Damn it, this is a real pain figuring out how to say this."

Ino was facing Sakura again, and laughed, "You know, for a genius he can sure be a dunce, huh?" She turned to Shikamaru with a small grin, "Go ahead and tell her what you said you wanted to tell her earlier, Shika."

Shikamaru sighed, and looked up to Asuma, who gave him a nod. The Nara scratched his head and walked over to Sakura before wrapping his arms around her like Ino had done moments ago, "Thanks...Sakura. For staying by Chouji's side when no one else could."

Sakura began to tremble a bit before slowly returning the hug from Shikamaru, "I'm sorry..."

Ino joined her teammate, comforting her best friend, "We know, but you don't have to be."

Sakura began to shed tears while shaky sobs wracked her body, the past couple of days finally catching up to her. They stood there for almost three minutes, not saying a word while Asuma simply watched, a ghost of a smile touching his face.

_"Poor girl needed this. I can definitely see why Kakashi's proud of her though. She's a lot __stronger than she gives herself credit for..."_ Asuma turned towards the Memorial Stone, his eyes resting on Chouji's name, _"I'm sorry I wasn't there, Chouji, but I hope you know just how many people cared for you. I'll be sure to continue treating Ino and Shikamaru to barbecue after missions, since I know you'd be pissed if I didn't."_

The Sarutobi chuckled quietly while lighting up a cigarette. He turned around to see his two students and Sakura slowly making there way to the stone as well. He blew a plume of smoke into the air and looked up to the late afternoon sky, _"Watch over us, Chouji. I'll do what I can to become a better teacher. I promise."_

~o~o~o~o~o~

"Tomorrow you're leaving again, right?"

Naruto felt Temari shift in his arms as she looked up to him, "Yeah. Ero-Sennin says we'll be following you guys through Fire Country before we head off to Fire Country's capital."

"That's a bit of a roundabout way of heading towards the capital, isn't it? I mean, wouldn't it just make more sense to head north right off the bat?"

Naruto shrugged, "I think he just wants to make sure you guys get back to Suna alright. There's been Rock and Sound ninja reported going through the country for quite some time now."

"That's true," Temari agreed with a yawn, "I'm sure we'll be alright though."

The two blonds were currently sitting by the window of Naruto's apartment, looking out to the crescent moon that shined in the early night sky. Naruto could feel the late autumn air blow through his window, and he felt Temari shiver a bit.

"Cold?" Naruto asked, drawing a blanket from his bed over them without even waiting for a response.

"Don't get me wrong; the desert gets cold too, but we don't get the same cold front currents from the north during the autumn. That and the humidity."

"You get used to it." Naruto chuckled as Temari nuzzled closer to him. She hadn't left his side since he was released earlier in the afternoon, so he assumed she was still worried about him. He found it somewhat humorous that she was so protective of him at times, but still as tough as nails when it came down to business. He had no idea how she was able to turn that mental switch on and off in her brain like that.

"Naruto...?"

"Hm?"

Temari was quiet for several moments, and the Jinchuuriki knew enough to not speak until she gathered her words, "Well, I know we're dating and all, but..." She paused again, which was a clear indication that she was having a hard time trying to vocalize her thoughts.

"Temari...what's wrong?"

The kunoichi sighed, "I guess...well, two and a half years can seem like a really long time."

"It might end up being three years, Temari." Naruto stated quietly, "It's up to Ero-Sennin."

"Right...well, I guess...Naruto, if you well...hang out with other girls while on the road, I don't mind-"

"Temari, what do you mean? You think I'd do that?" Naruto asked, sounding somewhat surprised, "I would never-"

"Naruto, first off, you're with Jiraiya."

The blond blinked and grunted, "Understandable...but still..."

"Second of all, if I'm guessing right, you'll have to go under the guise of an alias a lot of the time while traveling, possibly to gain information. It's not...well, it's not exactly unheard of for a shinobi to 'seduce' someone of the opposite sex in order to gain information, and I'm sure Jiraiya will be coaching both you and Gaara in that area."

Naruto shook his head a bit, "Temari, I don't think I could do that to you."

"You may _have_ to." Temari pointed out, "In all due fairness, I may have to do the same."

"Ah...well...I guess when you put it that way..."

Temari nudged Naruto after he went silent, "Hey, I said I won't hold it against you, alright?"

"Well, I...I won't do anything beyond...well...you know."

"Sex?" Temari inquired, filling in the blank while chuckling a little, "It's okay to say it, you know."

"Y-yeah, sex. I won't do any of that while I'm away with Ero-Sennin and Gaara."

Temari studied her boyfriend for a few moments before smiling, "Fair enough. I promise the same then." She laughed, "Although, I don't think either of us need to promise _that_. We'll be...what, only eighteen in three years time?"

"Well, I'll probably be closer to sixteen." Naruto answered.

Temari nodded, "Ah, that's right." She gave her boyfriend a teasing grin, "I bet the women will be all over you when you're traveling."

Naruto laughed while adorning a healthy blush, "Heheh, well, I'll just tell them I'm already taken."

Temari gave Naruto a genuine smile as she kissed him softly, which he happily returned, "I seriously wonder how I lucked out in meeting you sometimes."

"That's my line." Naruto replied. They both looked at each other for a moment before they both chuckled, "Man, that was awkward..."

"Tell me about it. Still...just don't feel like there's a guillotine being hung over your neck at all times. I would expect you to do what you have to as a ninja of not just one, but two villages." Temari finished, "I don't think you realize how many women have a thing for charming young guys who wear a hitai-ate."

"Probably not. I'll keep that in mind."

They stayed in each others arms until it was close to one in the morning. Temari was actually the one to stay awake longer, Naruto having fallen asleep with his head resting on top of hers. She laughed while pulling the blankets over themselves before falling asleep as well.

While he never voiced anything about the mission to her since he left the hospital, Temari could tell Naruto was still beating himself up over losing Sasuke to Oto. He was mad, sure, but she could tell that Naruto was also feeling very hurt and betrayed, and even a little sympathetic towards the Uchiha.

Tomorrow would be the day that they left Konoha. She was pretty sure it wouldn't be too long before she saw some of her friends the Leaf village; they were at war, and Konoha and Suna were allies. She'd probably be moving back and forth between the two villages quite often, seeing as she was one of the ninja who was more familiar with the shinobi populous in Konoha.

Her thoughts began to drift towards Naruto, and how he'd be leaving as well. A part of her wanted to object to him going off to who knows where without being able to inform her or anyone else for that matter, but the logical side of her mind said it was for his and her brother's own safety.

_"At least I'll be able to see him off..." _ Temari thought to herself. Her eyes began to feel heavy as she fell into blissful sleep.

Despite the pain and hardships they had been through, they had come out of the mission to retrieve Sasuke with their lives. While she was saddened by the loss of Chouji, as well as the loss of Hinata's sight, she had been happy when she found out that her two brothers and Naruto were alive.

Her hands unconsciously held onto Naruto tighter as she moved closer to him. Yes, tomorrow marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life, she felt. Naruto would be gone, and the war would be taking off to a greater scale soon.

She just hoped that she'd make it through alive, if only so that she could better protect those that she cared for.

~o~o~o~o~o~

**Ninja Data Files:**

**Naruto Uzumaki  
****Date of Birth: October 10th  
Sex: Male**

**Height: 148.0 cm  
Weight: 41.7 kg  
Blood Type: B**

**Current Ranking: Chuunin (both villages)**

**Statistics:  
Ninjutsu: 2.5  
Taijutsu: 2  
Genjutsu: 1****  
Intelligence: 2  
Strength: 2.5  
Speed: 3  
Stamina: 4  
Hand Seals: 1.5  
Stat Total: 18.5**

**Notes:  
Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Youko, Naruto Uzumaki is a shinobi registered under both Sunagakure and Konohagakure. He has shown a vast improvement in all fields of the ninja arts, especially Taijutsu and Ninjutsu since he was first made Genin. Recently has had a bounty placed on him by Iwa and Oto, dead or alive.**

**It should be noted that he has a strong affinity to Fuuton, and his arsenal of wind techniques is advanced for both his age and rank. He has been trained under Kakashi Hatake, Baki of Sunagakure, and is now being tutored along with Sabaku no Gaara by Jiraiya of the Sannin. No doubt Naruto will show further growth, especially in Fuuinjutsu, hopefully to help him gain better control over his bijuu (see file U-342 for further details on Jinchuuriki status).**

**Sasuke Uchiha****  
Date of Birth: July 23****rd  
Sex: Male**

**Height: 153. 5 cm  
Weight: 42. 7 kg.  
Blood Type: AB**

**Current Ranking: N/A (recently declared Nuke-nin)**

**Statistics:  
Ninjutsu: 2.5  
Taijutsu: 2  
Genjutsu: 1.5  
****Intelligence: 3  
Strength: 2  
Speed: 2.5  
Stamina: 2.5  
Hand Seals: 3  
Stat Total: 19.0**

**Notes:  
The sole survivor of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke is an exceptional shinobi with a notable prowess in Katon techniques. His strength lies in his tactical skills, and his abilities in Ninjutsu. He has awakened the Sharingan, and has been tutored under Kakashi Hatake on how to further control his clan's kekkai genkai (see file S-21 for more information on Sharingan).**

**Sasuke's a rather aloof person, and has experienced a rather traumatizing childhood with the death of his entire clan by the hands of his brother, Itachi (file U-481, sec. 7 for information on Itachi Uchiha and the Uchiha massacre). While he is a talented shinobi, his psychological stability could be an issue if not monitored.**

**Edit- Sasuke Uchiha is now a missing-nin of Konoha, having defected and leaving the village to join Orochimaru and Otogakure (file O-592). While details are still uncertain as to his motive, it is believed Sasuke is planning to gain more power to kill his brother. Currently ranked as a B-class missing-nin.  
**

~o~o~o~o~o~

**End of Chapter Twenty-four: So ends the Sasuke Retrieval arc. Yeah, he got away, but there were a few changes, as you could tell (especially Kimimaro surviving, which will be touched upon later). Also, this Sasuke is not the same Sasuke we see in the canon series. I wanted him to be more...reluctant, I suppose? He still has vengeance embedded in his mind, but this doesn't mean that he loathes Naruto and the others. He simply wishes to start over, and break ties with those that he had been friends with. How successful he'll be at that remains a mystery for now.**

**I have some ideas planned for a 'Training Arc/Quest' for Naruto and Gaara, as well as give some of the others a bit of limelight, such as Kiba, Tenten, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Kakashi, etc. I want to cover various angles of the Fourth Shinobi War, so it may be a few chapters worth of material. Personally, I'm kind of looking forward to it.**

**Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Thanks for reading!  
**

**Also, I want to extend thanks to Paradox Jast for the quick beta on this chapter. He's an awesome beta, and quick on the editing.**


	25. Parting Ways

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, and I am not getting any profit from this fanfic, which is fine, I guess. Makes creating this story all the more...rewarding? Aw hell, who am I kidding?**

**Chapter 25: Parting Ways**

"So, why are we all here?"

"I don't know, Naruto said he and Gaara wanted to tell us something."

The shinobi of the now Konoha Nine, along with Temari and Kankuro, were all sitting in a small room within the Hokage Tower. They had been summoned before daybreak to report to the small meeting room as soon as possible, and were not given any further instructions by their ANBU messengers.

"Any idea what they wanted to talk to us about?" asked Ino, who was just starting to wake up. She rubbed her eyes while letting out a quiet yawn.

"No idea...but they could have waited a little while longer. It's not even six o' clock for the love of-"

"Kiba-kun, they're leaving _today_. I'm sure this is important..." Hinata cut the Inuzuka's ranting off with a gentle hand. Kiba went silent almost immediately, grunting in understanding.

Only a few faces among the group had any idea what was going on, namely Sakura, Kankuro, and Temari. The two Jinchuuriki boys had discussed it with them earlier yesterday, stating that since the Fourth Shinobi War had begun, many ninjas would be out for their bounties. Not only that, but there was also Akatsuki to worry about.

The door to the room slowly opened, and the group of eleven shinobi all looked to see the two boys in question walk through the doors. Accompanying them were Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakash, Baki, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and about six ANBU. The young Genin and Chuunin went silent as they sensed a feeling of seriousness emanating from the older ninja.

Tsunade was the first to speak, "Alright, I'm sure all of you are plenty curious as to why you've been summoned here to one of the private meeting rooms within the Hokage Tower well before most missions are given to the vast majority of the ninja populous."

"So I take it there won't be any continental breakfast served to us?"

"Keep it up Inuzuka, and I'll have you painting fences for a month."

Kiba went silent almost immediately upon hearing the Godaime's threat. She waited to see if anyone else was going to complain, and nodded to herself when the younger shinobi clearly weren't going to voice any opinions again, "Right. Anyway, you're all here today because Naruto and Gaara wish to share with all of you information that is top secret. Only those of the highest rank in shinobi society, and those that were alive during the Kyuubi attack or the most recent sealing of the Ichibi know anything of this secret."

Already the faces of the small audience were beginning to show signs of understanding. Shikamaru looked like he had been slapped in the face, Neji's eyes widened a fraction, and Shino pushed his sunglasses up while shifting in his chair slightly.

"While I am able to share this information with you, as well as the Sandaime, it would be best if these two share their story with you." Tsunade continued, "All I ask of you is that you keep quiet until they are both done. Should any of you decide to do anything...drastic...I'll have these ANBU here to bring you to the proper confinement facility."

"Geez, Baa-chan, you don't need to threaten them like that." Naruto mumbled while his cheeks flushed a bit, "I don't want them to get scared before I even start talking."

Tsunade gave Naruto a hard look, "It's best that they know the gravity of the situation before they get their toes wet." She looked to all the shinobi seated, "If any of you feel that you cannot be trusted with such a secret, then I ask that you leave now."

No one rose from their seats.

"Good." She looked to Gaara and Naruto, "Alright, boys. The floor is yours."

Naruto looked to Gaara, who simply nodded. He apparently wanted Naruto to go first. The blond expected as much, and let out a deep sigh.

_"Well...better now than never, I guess,"_ Naruto looked to each of the thirteen sitting before him, "I don't know how many of you are familiar with the details on the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha about thirteen years ago, but...well, it's true what they told us in school. To a certain point, at least."

He noticed the others were all focused on him. He looked to Temari, who gave him a simple nod, a small, reassuring smile on her face. He smiled back before continuing, "The truth is that...the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who was also my father, did not die _killing_ the Kyuubi. He simply gave his life in order to seal it away within a newborn child born on that very same night; October tenth."

It was easy to see that the others were already starting to connect the dots in their minds. He figured they would, "The sealing of the Kyuubi required that a human soul be given as payment for imprisoning the nine-tailed fox within a newly born child. After the death of the Yondaime, that child was left with the fox sealed inside its body. Apparently a newborn's chakra coils are able to adapt to a bijuu's chakra."

"A human that houses one of the tailed demons within them is called a Jinchuuriki. As the name suggests, they are considered a sacrifice. In the past, they were revered as powerful beings in some cultures, while others saw them as the very things they contained." Gaara added.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah. Well..." He sighed before scratching his neck, "In case you didn't already get what I'm saying...I was that baby that the Kyuubi was sealed in. Man, I suck at story telling, heheh."

Naruto's fake smile was easily noticeable to those that knew him well enough. He clearly felt nervous, but this was important to him.

"I'm not 'possessed' by the fox, and while it has some effects on me, the seal is safely holding it in place. The Yondaime was amazing at Fuuinjutsu, so you can all rest assured that it's alright." He looked around at the group, trying to get a grasp of what they may be thinking, "I can use the Kyuubi's power, and I have on more than one occasion done just that. Neji, when I fought you, that power that helped me recover from having my chakra blocked off was the Kyuubi's. Like I said, though, the fox won't break out of me at any given moment, heheh."

"Naruto's right. His father and mother were both geniuses in at making seals, though his mother was the brains behind the basic structure." Jiraiya stated after a few moments of silence, "I hope you kids understand that."

The young shinobi all nodded in understanding.

"Wait, Naruto, your father was _the_ Yondaime Hokage?" asked Lee, "That is most astonishing! I can see the resemblance, though. Yes, the flames of youth have passed on from father to son! I can-"

A sudden tug on his ear by Tenten quieted him down, "Don't interrupt, Lee."

It was Gaara's turn to speak, "Well, my story isn't as positive, but...I too am a Jinchuuriki. The Ichibi was sealed within me before I was born, and my mother died while giving birth to me. My father, the former Kazekage, had hoped to create a living weapon, and he almost came close to that."

"Gaara..." Temari began, but was silenced when Gaara slowly put up a hand. She frowned, but nodded.

"This sand within my gourd, which the Ichibi can channel its powers into, guards me without any thought on my part. You could throw a shuriken at me from any angle, and the sand would intercept it." Gaara closed his eyes for a moment before continuing, "I have managed to reign in the bijuu, however, and I am able to go about my life without worry of it being a danger to others."

The two were silent after that, looking at the thirteen shinobi before them. Temari, Kankuro, and Sakura all had what hopefully were supportive expressions on their faces. A few seemed to be struck with surprise. Hinata, who wasn't focusing directly on Naruto or Gaara, was frowning while her eyes were moistening at the corners. Shikamaru had his head down, deep in thought.

Ino, who seemed hesitant to speak, raised a hand. Naruto nodded, a smile on his face, "Ino?"

"So...you mean...you've both had those bijuu in you since birth?"

"More or less, probably a few minutes afterwards in my case. Gaara had his before he was born, as he said."

Ino nodded, "I guess...that explains why so many of the teachers ignored you in the Academy."

Much to the surprise of everyone, the Sandaime spoke up at that point, "I'm aware of that fact, Ino. It's unfortunate that I had so many shinobi under my command who couldn't see Naruto for who he truly is. A human being."

"Well," The Yamanaka continued, "how come none of us were ever told that Naruto was the Yondaime's son?"

Hiruzen decided to answer the blond's other question as well, "Unfortunately for Naruto, his father was a very talented ninja who made more enemies than most would like to admit to having. On top of that, he had done some major damage to Iwagakure's ranks during the Third Shinobi War. Naruto's heritage was kept secret to avoid any possible threats from coming up while he was young. Believe me, though, if it wasn't for that, Naruto would have known about his family much sooner than just recently."

"Oh..." Ino seemed to settle for that answer, and looked down.

Silence hung in the air again. Naruto felt his hands opening and closing while he felt his throat tightening a bit.

"Thanks, Naruto...Gaara."

The two looked to Sakura, who was smiling with unshed tears. The blond suddenly felt his stomach turn to lead, "Sakura-chan? What's-"

Sakura waved a hand, "Sorry...it's just...well, I think we're all a little guilty of being hard on you. I'm just thanking you guys for keeping everyone safe, and protecting Konoha...and...well everything."

"That may be true, but Naruto _was_ a bit of a class-clown." Shikamaru remarked with a smirk while turning to Naruto, "You definitely gave Iruka-sensei trouble."

"You all did." Ino spoke tersely, "_Especially_ Kiba and Naruto."

"Oi, we were kids!" Kiba bristled.

The group burst into chuckles as Kiba and Naruto both grinned in embarrassment while Shikamaru rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging on his lips.

Eventually Tsunade spoke up, "Now that you have all been informed of this, I'm trusting the lot of you with these two secrets. You're the future of both Suna and Konoha, and as such, it's your duty to do what you can to see that our villages remain strong. Information is a powerful tool in the shinobi world, and there will be those who will seek out Naruto and Gaara. If you encounter such people, you must do what you can to keep these two safe."

"We're not helpless, Baa-chan." Naruto grumbled.

"Duly noted, Naruto. The point is that you two are going to be prime targets in this war. Iwa is well aware that we have Jinchuuriki, and seeing that Orochimaru is allied with them, they probably already know that you two are the bijuu's vessels." Tsunade stated, "While you two will be on the move for the most part, if someone were to find out your general location, it could have dangerous results for us."

Jiraiya cleared his throat, "Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on these two as much as possible."

Naruto groaned, "We are _not_ Genin, Ero-Sennin! We can-"

"Naruto! Enough!" The blond was cut off by the angry voice of Tsunade, "I'm not going to say it again; you two hold power that some people would willingly strip away from you without a second thought. I'm sure neither of you need an explanation on what would result from that, correct?"

"...what _would_ happen if the bijuu were removed?"

Tsunade turned to Kiba, "They would die."

The group went silent once more, a few jaws going slack as the Godaime sighed. She looked to Jiraiya, almost pleadingly, and the Toad Sage gave a shrug before speaking up, "Rest assured, though, it takes a lot of power to be able to do such a thing. It's not that easy of a task."

Shortly after that, the meeting was ended, and the group, along with Jiraiya, Naruto, and Gaara, made their way to the gate.

The giant doors of Konoha were open to the land outside of the village walls when they arrived. Naruto and Gaara both took in the great expanse that lay before them, a winding path leading to a seemingly endless forest.

"You boys have everything, right?" Jiraiya asked, "We're not going to make any stops back here once we're on the road, you know."

Naruto and Gaara gave nods, having packed and checked their backpacks the night before. Temari and Kankuro, along with Baki, had their packs with them as well, seeing as they would be accompanying the trio towards the direction of Wind Country. The duo looked to those who were staying behind. Tayuya had joined up with the group to bid the Temari and the others farewell. Naruto could see Iruka jogging towards the gate as well, looking like he still could use a few hours of rest.

"You two...stay safe, alright?" Tsunade spoke, "By the way, I never managed to get these to the two of you until today." She pulled out from her jacket pocket two necklaces, each holding a portion of the aquamarine colored crystal that Tsunade had worn around her own neck, "You two did win that bet, right?"

Naruto and Gaara both held their respective necklaces before tying them around their necks. Then Gaara spoke, "How did you manage to get the crystal separated so well? They look like to perfect halves of each other."

"Chakra cutting. It's an arduous process with that gem, but I managed to do it. Chakra control is a big necessity with that kind of skill though." She placed a hand on either of the boys' shoulders, "Take care of yourselves, and try to stay out of trouble while you're with the pervert."

"I'm right here, you know."

Tsunade ignored Jiraiya as she continued, "I expect both you of you to get strong, and represent Konoha and Suna well. Jiraiya will stay in contact with me via Toads, and Temari has agreed to keeping communication open with you, Naruto, via Kamatari."

"Right." Naruto gave a thumbs up, "Just you wait, Baa-chan. When we come back, we'll be even better than we are now!"

"Thanks for everything, Tsunade-san." Gaara added, giving a nod, "Please try to refrain from drinking too much. It's not good to work while drinking."

Tsunade flicked Gaara lightly on the forehead, sending the Ichibi boy stumbling back a few feet, though he remained standing nontheless.

The other shinobi all gave their share of parting words, including the Sandaime, who told Naruto that he'd make sure to keep his apartment open for him to use whenever he returned. Iruka gave the blond a pat on the head and stated that from here on out he and Naruto were no longer student and teacher, but equals in the world of ninja, "Just don't let that go to your head, alright?"

"Too late." Kankuro joked, causing the group to laugh while Naruto grumbled under his breath, a small smile evident on his features.

Sakura approached the two boys and gave each of them a hug, much to Gaara's surprise. She was shedding tears while smiling, "Gah, look at me. I'd rather not part like this considering it'll be awhile before you see me again, huh?"

The blond just waved it off, "It's alright, Sakura. I'll miss you too." He was holding back tears of his own, "Just...just keep getting stronger."

The kunoichi held out her hand, offering it, "Let's make that a promise."

Naruto looked to her hand before grinning, "Right. We'll both become stronger."

The two shook before Sakura gave a final hug, then walked over to Temari and gave her a powerful hug as well, causing the Suna-kunoichi to laugh in surprise.

Last of all was Kakashi. He looked to both the boys and gave them a masked smile, "I'm proud to say that I know both of you. Naruto..." He scratched his head while looking down, "I know I can't really claim to have taught you a whole lot-"

"It's alright, Kakashi-sensei...I was a pain in the ass at times, I can admit to it, heheh."

The Jounin sighed, "It's still not excusable on my part. Anyway...when you two return...I'll be happy to get back to training you. Gaara, Earth isn't my element per se, but I'm sure there's a thing or two we can learn from each other."

"I'd be honored." Gaara gave Kakashi a respective nod. Kakashi gave the two a final glance before stepping back, "Right. We better not keep you any longer—you've got a long road ahead of you."

Jiraiya, Temari, Kankuro, Baki, Gaara, and Naruto all turned towards the gate. Jiraiya let out a deep breath before walking out to the road ahead, "Later, Tsunade. I'll send word when the boys and I have found a place to settle down for a little while."

"You better...and don't go spending all your time at the brothels!"

Jiraiya tensed a bit while laughter could be heard from Naruto. He cast a weak glare towards his pupil, silencing the boy immediately.

As the six shinobi headed out, Tsunade felt moisture pricking at the corners of her eyes. She wiped them while smiling, "Stay safe..."

2525252525

About a day had passed since the six had left Konoha. They were currently hunkered down in a small cavern about twelve hours west of Konoha. It was raining at the moment, and Jiraiya had decided to call it a day for as far as traveling went, considering it was going onto ten o' clock in the evening.

Jiraiya looked around at his group. Naruto was currently poring over a scroll while Temari looked over his shoulder, speaking to him in a hushed voice while pointing out a few things written on it. No doubt it was a _Fuuton_ technique scroll if she was offering pointers about the jutsu written on it.

Gaara was poking at the fire they had made with a large stick while conversing with Kankuro about something that sounded related to the mechanisms behind the older brother's puppets. Meanwhile, Baki was leaning back against the wall of the cave, getting a bit of shut eye so that Jiraiya could rest later on while the veiled Jounin took over for watch later.

Jiraiya scrawled a few more lines in his notebook before pocketing it and standing up, "Alright, lights out everyone. I've got first watch, and Baki will be taking second. Kankuro and Naruto have third, and Gaara and Temari have the final shift."

The group voiced no protests, though Naruto seemed a bit reluctant to close up his scroll for a moment before Temari convinced him to do so. Within five minutes, the young ninja had taken their spots for the night and gone to sleep. Gaara even seemed to be resting from what Jiraiya could tell; a good sign if the Toad Sage ever saw one.

Jiraiya stretched a bit before standing up and adding another small log to the fire. He walked to the mouth of the cave and pulled out a scroll before summoning a small toad. The red colored frog gave Jiraiya an expectant look, "What's up, Jiraiya-sama?"

"Take this to your usual contact, and tell them that I'll inform them when we're ready to meet up at the capital."

"Roger." The frog gave a salute before disappearing with a quiet popping sound, leaving behind a small puff of smoke.

The Toad Sage rubbed his forehead and looked to the damp world outside of the cave. Judging from what he saw earlier today, there was likely to be fair weather tomorrow, which would help with travel. The rainy season was coming though, so the sooner they reached the Fire Country capital, the better. He had to exchange some information with the daimyo, as well as get Naruto and Gaara acquainted with the royal family.

The second purpose for the three going to the capital was namely so the two boys could set up relations with the royal family of the Land of Fire. This would only further help them in Jiraiya's eyes; he wouldn't pressure them into it, but he hoped that they would at least take up Fuuinjutsu and setting up their own spy networks as they got older. The truth was that the ninja world was always short on spies, and Jiraiya was pretty sure within another decade there would be only a handful of true spies left. While he never enjoyed the line of work, he hoped that by teaching the two boys the tricks of the trade that they'd be the ones to end the majority of the violence in the ninja world

It was wishful thinking, sure, but Jiraiya sincerely believed in the two. They both knew what it meant to trust people, and they were talented when it came to the ninja arts. If anyone could be a spy master, it was those two. The best way to help this happen was by getting them to learn more about the world around them, and the Land of Fire's capital had the largest library within the country. While most of it was open to the public, there were also areas that were reserved only for the ninja of the land who ranked at the level of elite, like Kakashi or himself. Numerous archives of information that had been acquired over the decades were stored within the vaults of the Fire Country palace library, and only the best of the best would ever hope of sneaking into it without getting caught.

Looking towards his two sleeping students, Jiraiya smiled. He could already picture the looks on their faces as soon as they laid eyes upon the vast amount of knowledge available to them. The boys absorbed information like sponges with water; it was only natural they'd want to study the scrolls the palace had.

With those thoughts fresh in his mind, Jiraiya sat down and opened a small booklet that had all his contacts in it. None of them had real names, which was intentional. The last thing Jiraiya ever wanted was to put his own allies in danger.

He made a mental checklist of which ones he had received word from recently, and made sure to contact those that he hadn't heard from in quite awhile. He'd also have to start introducing Naruto and Gaara, if they agreed to it, to these spies. Of course, they'd ultimately be in charge of setting up their own spy networks.

Jiraiya eventually found it to be time to switch shifts with Baki. He walked over to the veiled Jounin from Suna and spoke his name in a calm voice. The Jounin stirred, and blinked before nodding, "Already my turn?"

"Yep. Kankuro and Naruto will take over for you when your shift's over."

"Sounds good." The Jounin replied as he poked lightly at the fire.

With that taken care of, Jiraiya slumped down against the cool stone walls, the warmth of the fire comforting him as he dozed off.

2525252525

The group soon found themselves at the point where they would be parting. Two more hours west from them was River Country, and about a half day's worth of travel northeast was the capital. Time was of the essence right now, so Jiraiya unfortunately had to rush the boys during their goodbyes.

"Well..." Naruto began as he and Temari faced each other, "...I guess this will be the last time we see each other for a while."

Temari smiled, "Hey, don't get all depressed on me now. We'll still keep in touch through Kamatari. Besides, I think Jiraiya said he'd be stopping through Wind at some point."

Naruto nodded, a small smile of his own forming, "Yeah, that's true." He and Temari embraced for a few moments, "I'm going to miss you, Temari. Take care of yourself."

"Hey, that's my line." Temari joked, holding back the moisture building up in the corners of her eyes, "Look after Gaara for me."

"I'm sure he'll be doing the same for me, Temari." He looked up to the taller kunoichi, "We'll be alright, okay?"

"Right."

Temari planted a chaste kiss on his lips before letting go, "Let me know when you guys reach the capital."

"I will."

The two walked back to the small clearing where the others were waiting. Jiraiya had a small smirk on his face, directing it towards Naruto, who merely rolled his eyes in response. Baki looked to Kankuro, who gave a nod, then to Temari, who did likewise.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways."

Naruto grinned to the Suna Jounin, "Thanks for everything, Baki-sensei. I'll keep working on the Falling Falcon style while I'm traveling."

Baki smirked while approaching both Gaara and Naruto, placing a firm hand on either of their shoulders, "Good luck to you two. I look forward to seeing you both when you stop by in Sunagakure during your travels, alright?"

"Yes, sir." Naruto gave a mock salute while Gaara nodded, "Take care of Sunagakure while we're away."

"If anything, that should be easier." Baki, Jiraiya, Temari, and even Gaara, laughed as Naruto scratched his neck while Kankuro punched Naruto in the arm, "I'm just messing with you, Naruto. You two will be sorely missed."

"Thanks, Kankuro. Let me know if you find out anything else about those Fuuinjutsu scrolls for me."

Jiraiya and Baki shared a look of interest before the Sage spoke, "Fuuinjutsu scrolls?"

Kankuro looked to the older ninja, "Hm? Oh, yeah, Naruto was asking me about some weight seals that would help with his training."

"Really?" Jiraiya asked, "What kind of weight seals?"

Kankuro shrugged, "Not sure. I mean, I have only a basic, and that's putting it nicely, understanding of scrolls, but to dumb it down for simplicity's sake, they're often called 'gravity increaser' seals."

"Yeah, they make the person feel heavier by about...what, one to five percent?" Naruto chimed in, receiving a nod from the puppet master, "Well, anyway, they're a bit expensive, but Kankuro says he knows of a dealer in Sunagakure that could sell them to me for a nice discount. Kankuro and I are going to keep in touch so I can look into buying them, maybe I'll even be able to replicate a few and add my own touches once I understand them well enough."

"Yeesh, the kid's not even a year into Fuuinjutsu and he's already got more understanding of the arts than most shinobi twice his age." Baki commented.

A few more goodbyes and farewells were exchanged before the two groups parted. Temari and Naruto were the last to part. The two held hands for a moment, channeling chakra through one another. The tingling of their life force ran through their bodies, running up their arms and causing their mutual summoner seals to glow.

"I'll be back in Suna before you know it."

Temari fought back the moisture in her eyes, "Right."

The let their hands slowly drop to their sides, and Naruto decided to be the first to leap off. Temari watched for a few seconds before taking off as well. She quickly caught up with Baki and Kankuro, the two looking back to her.

Her brother noticed the far off look in her eyes, "You going to be alright?"

Temari blinked before laughing, wiping away moisture when Kankuro eventually faced forward, "Yeah."

2525252525

Naruto was rather quiet as they leaped through the trees of Fire Country, and his silence didn't go unnoticed by his two other comrades.

"You'll see Temari-neesan again, Naruto." Gaara spoke, "I'm certain she would lose it if she was away from you for more than three years."

Jiraiya laughed while Naruto chuckled quietly, "Heh, you're right. The same goes for me though too." He looked ahead to his instructor, "Hey, Ero-Sennin, where exactly is this capital, anyway?"

"Not too far away." Jiraiya replied, "It's not like we're in a real hurry, either. We've got a schedule of sorts, but nothing that is putting too much pressure on us in terms of time."

"Jiraiya-sensei, are we going to be doing anything else besides studying the shinobi archives and meeting the Fire Country's royal family?" Gaara asked, "Not that I'm against either, but don't you think we should be working on our physical skills as well?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get plenty of that during your time as bodyguards."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Bodyguards? For who, the Fire Lord?"

"Not quite; you'll be escorting the prince and princess while they travel throughout the country with their advisors."

"Why would the prince and princess be traveling without the Fire daimyo or his wife?" Gaara questioned, "I could understand them traveling with the rest of the royal family, but just the two of them?"

"Good question, Gaara. The truth is that Natsumi, the Fire Princess, is to be the next heir to the throne, being the older of the two siblings. She's traveling along with her brother so that she can learn about the people she will be leading within the next decade or so. Her brother, Shuugo, is training to be one of the samurai within the royal guard, so he's not interested in the political side of the family. Still, he'll likely be the captain of the guard someday, so it'd be helpful for him to accompany her for experience for when he someday has to escort her."

"So...we'll be bodyguards for a princess and prince?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it."

Naruto looked to Gaara, "That shouldn't be too hard to take care of. I mean, they're just going to be going around the country, doing the things nobles do."

Jiraiya smirked to himself while facing forward. Shuugo wouldn't be that much of a problem...but Natsumi was another story.

A sudden chuckle escaped from Jiraiya, which didn't go unnoticed by the two boys. The worst part of it was that the laughter from the Sage almost sounded sinister. The boys looked to each other before frowning to themselves.

2525252525

It had been almost four days since Sasuke had fought Naruto at the Valley of the End. He now wore a dark blue shirt that was opened slightly, revealing his torso. His pants were of a black color, being tied at the waist by a simple black colored belt. Orochimaru had offered him one of the traditional purple colored ropes that the Sound Five had worn, but the Uchiha had declined, stating he was only here to learn from Orochimaru and to gain more power, not be one of his underlings.

The only people Sasuke really spoke to were Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Kimimaro. The youngest of the three had a rather cold demeanor about him, but it didn't surprise the Uchiha that much. Considering the atmosphere of Otogakure, it was almost like sentencing yourself to an early death if you were overly cheerful or kind to anyone.

Currently, the Uchiha was walking through the dimly lit underground corridors of Oto, the sparse light being provided by the torches that hung on the wall. Once in a while he would pass by a Sound-nin, who would either give him a nod, or ignore him all together. Not that it bothered him; Sasuke didn't care much for these shinobi, seeing as the vast majority of them were either nuke-nin or shinobi that held no concern for anyone but themselves. Sure, there was the rare young Genin or Chuunin who had taken up the way of shinobi to provide for his or her family, or because they wanted to make themselves useful in the eyes of their bloodthirsty leader. No doubt Orochimaru had a considerable amount of people indebted to him.

"E-excuse, Sasuke-sama."

Sasuke closed his eyes while letting out an annoyed sigh; that was another thing. Everyone was treating him like a noble. No doubt it was Orochimaru's influence that was the cause of this, but it didn't sit well with Sasuke.

Turning around, Sasuke found himself face to face with a kunoichi that had hair and eyes of a strikingly bright red color. She wore spectacles and wore a loose-fitted shirt of a similar dark blue with a mesh shirt underneath, and tan pants that reached to her knees. He recognized her face as one of the shinobi that had been working in Orochimaru's 'research' facility.

"Hm?" Sasuke grunted, studying the young woman.

The kunoichi blushed a bit as she looked away, "Well, um...I'm Karin, and Orochimaru assigned me as your guide. I was told you haven't been given a proper tour of-"

"Not interested." Sasuke interrupted, turning around and continuing down the corridor. The last thing he needed was someone hovering around him while pointing out the bleak surroundings of the poor-excuse of a ninja village. In truth, he was more interested in seeing the nearby village where the normal citizens lived. He was thinking of maybe buying a few groceries with the little money he had carried along with him.

"O-oh, I see. Well, if you do wish to get a tour of our village, I'll be in the research lab. You know where that is, right?"

"Yeah."

Karin frowned; so far she had made herself look like a complete idiot. She had been recruited by Orochimaru no more than two months ago, but she had already memorized the entire shinobi village layout. When Orochimaru had told her this morning that she was to personally give _the_ Sasuke Uchiha a tour of Oto, she had almost lost it. She had seen the Konoha prodigy during the second part of the Chuunin exam, and his face had been imprinted in her mind ever since. He had saved her from a large bear when she had gotten separated from her team before getting lost in the Forest of Death. He had been looking for one of the other scrolls needed to complete the test, but she didn't have one. His smile had been...

She shivered quietly; he was like an Adonis among shinobi, with his smooth, jet-black hair, his piercing gaze, his flawless...

"Hey, Karin..."

Karin snapped out of her daydreaming, "Huh? Oh, sorry, Sasuke-sa-"

"Drop the _sama_, it's annoying."

"Sorry, I didn't know." Karin adjusted her glasses while looking away.

"Whatever, anyway, do you think you could give me a tour of the nearby village? That place looks at least halfway inviting."

Karin gave Sasuke a look of disbelief, "You mean that village full of civilians? Um...I guess...Orochimaru never said anything about me _not_ giving you a tour outside of Otogakure, so..." She smiled, "I'd be happy to, Sasuke."

"Thanks."

Karin beamed as Sasuke gave her a small smile of his own, "Oh, it's no problem. I could stand to get some fresh air myself."

Sasuke and Karin soon found themselves walking up a flight of stairs leading to a door that was presumably one of the numerous hidden entrances to the Hidden Sound village. They exited the doorway, and found themselves underneath a tree that had its roots sticking above the ground. Walking out from the cover of the gigantic tree, Sasuke followed Karin as she guided him through the forested area that expanded over Otogakure.

Eventually the two reached the edge of the forest, and the two could see a small dirt road leading down to the village that Sasuke had been interested in. Ishitani no Sato was a rather small village, its population just above one hundred citizens in size. It's main income came through the growth of rice and breeding of livestock. Due to the protection that Orochimaru provided, the townspeople had no need to worry about raiding parties that other villages in more remote parts of the Rice Country dealt with.

Within fifteen minutes the two were walking through the stone-arch entrance, and walked into what was clearly the market area of the village. The Uchiha walked past a few of the vendors, Karin following behind, curious as to why he wished to come to some small civilian village. Sasuke eventually stopped at a booth run by a middle aged woman who was selling various produce that appeared to have been grown from her own garden.

"How much for a bag of tomatoes?" the Uchiha inquired as he inspected the red fruit with a scrutinizing eye. He held the fruit in his hand while digging in his pocket for what little money he had on him.

"You're the first customer I'd have today, so I'd be willing to give you a discount. How does three hundred seventy-five ryo sound to you?"

Sasuke looked over his money and gave a nod, "Sounds fair to me." He handed her four hundred ryo's worth of bills, and told her to keep the change. He picked out one of the bigger tomatoes from the bag, and looked to Karin, "Hungry?"

Karin smiled while giving a nod, "I was going to get something to eat later, but if you're offering."

Sasuke pulled out a kunai from his shirt's interior and sliced the fruit in half before handing her a portion. He then bit into his own half and sighed, "I haven't eaten anything decent in the past week now."

"Really? I half-expected Orochimaru-sama to be feeding you, seeing as your his pupil and-"

"I'm _not_ his pupil. I'm merely here to get stronger, that's all. He can offer me that."

Karin noticed the icy tone he took at the mention of the Snake Summoner. She raised a hand, waving it apologetically, "Sorry! I didn't know that you-"

"Don't worry about it; now you know." Sasuke looked around the village before he continued, "How does Orochimaru treat these people? I know he offers them protection, but I'm sure there's a price, right?"

"Well..." Karin shrugged while taking another bite out of the tomato, "As far as I can tell, he leaves them to their own business. I mean, this place does give us a good portion of the food our shinobi eat, and all they ask from us is that we patrol their village area and keep them under our protection in return."

"So he doesn't hold that over their heads, does he?"

Karin chuckled, "Surprisingly, no. Though, that's just me talking. I'm sure someone has more to say about the matter, but I don't."

"Aren't you also one of the jailers for his prison?"

The redhead nodded, "Yes, but I try to avoid that area as much as possible." She took of her glasses for a moment and wiped them off with her shirt sleeve before placing them back on, "That place is full of things I'd rather not see if I could help it."

"You don't say?" Sasuke commented.

"Let's just say that it's better to not get caught by Oto forces if you can help it. Hell, death would probably be a better alternative in most cases." She shuddered a little, "It's not necessarily Orochimaru that I'd fear though."

"Really?"

"No; Orochimaru at least kills his victims. Kabuto on the other hand..." She let the sentence hang in the air, Sasuke catching her drift and silently nodding.

The two continued their impromptu tour, Karin pointing out what few things she believed were worth noting about the place; the mayor's house, the local law enforcement station, the festival grounds, and even the small shrine that apparently had been around since the founding days of the little village.

It was close to evening by the time the two decided to return to Otogakure, both of them feeling that it was better to be there before Orochimaru grew curious as to why they were spending so much time at a small little village like Ishitani.

"Karin," Sasuke began as the two parted down separate hallways, "Thanks for the tour."

Karin laughed quietly, "I didn't really give you much of a tour, to be honest. It was more like we just walked around aimlessly."

"Well, thanks anyway." He paused for a moment, "I'd be interested in learning about what the research facility has next time." He turned and continued down the dark hall.

Karin felt her heartbeat quicken ever so slightly; Sasuke thanked her. He seemed like he had a genuinely good time. He was hard to read most of the time, but he at least didn't act as hostile as he appeared be.

Part of her wondered why he had taken such an interest in the village down the road, but when she questioned him about it, he merely shrugged his shoulders while not giving an audible reply. She didn't pry any further. Perhaps he was just like her; he wanted to get some fresh air as well. She brushed back a strand of hair while heading down the hall to her own quarters. She yawned, surprised to find herself feeling tired suddenly.

Tomorrow, she would try to find Sasuke and give him a real tour of the research facility. No doubt he wanted to know what was going on in those dark rooms, and she was certain that Orochimaru had no qualms with her showing him the advances their village had made.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was making his way towards one of the training rings within the underground village. He took a left, entering through a nondescript door way, and found himself within a circular room, torches lining the entire room. The fighting ring itself was probably no more than thirty yards in diameter, but Sasuke wasn't going to gripe.

He got into a stance, and began to go through a series of movements, striking forward with his fists before spinning forward with both legs, striking an imaginary foe with both feet. He flipped back and threw several kunai at the ground where his foe would have been before speeding through several hand seals and blasting a small ball of fire.

_Clap, clap, clap..._

Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see none other than Orochimaru, the bandages still wrapped around his face like they had been when the Uchiha had first arrived, "A wonderful demonstration of your basic skills, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn..." Sasuke picked up his kunai, "Are you here to train me?"

"My, quite the impatient shinobi, aren't we?" Orochimaru approached the Uchiha, "No, we're not quite ready to train yet."

"I'm ready. I don't understand what's holding you up. You say you're powerful enough to teach me how to get revenge on my brother, but you have yet to prove it." The Uchiha locked gazes with the Snake Summoner, "I sure hope you weren't lying this whole time."

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed; he was prepared for this. He knew that the last Uchiha was not afraid of being rude and speaking his mind, but he still didn't find the younger shinobi's attitude very appealing, "Within a week's time we'll start. I'll begin by assessing your basic skills, and we'll improve wherever it's needed. We'll also work on the Sharingan's-"

"No."

Orochimaru frowned, though his bandages kept his face hidden, "No?"

"I don't need you helping me with _my_ clan's bloodline. I know enough about it already. I'll train myself on my own time in how to use the Sharingan." The Uchiha didn't sound like he was leaving the topic up for argument.

"Very well, then. I can respect a person's need to keep a few secrets to themselves. I suppose after we get the basics down, we can begin your training in Kenjutsu."

Sasuke's eyebrows rose slightly, "Kenjutsu?"

"Yes. The use of the sword is actually one of my specialties, and I can already tell you have a vast potential in that field of combat as well." hissed Orochimaru, "First we'll see where you stand. I'm certain it won't be that hard to get you up to speed with my training, however."

"I think it's pointless, but if it helps me get you to train me, fine." Sasuke began to kick the air in front of him once more.

"I also will have you and Kimimaro work together as sparring partners."

Sasuke's eyes turned to Sharingan suddenly, "Kimimaro? You mean to tell me you're going to have me work with him? I was never informed of this decision."

"It's not that bad, Sasuke-kun. Kimimaro is a gifted fighter as well, and with his improved health, he'll be a more than decent partner for you during practice."

Orochimaru had a point, the Uchiha realized. The bone-user was far from social, but he knew a strong shinobi when he saw one, and Kimimaro definitely fell into that lot.

"Fine."

Orochimaru laughed to himself, "I'll leave you to train, then."

As soon as Orochimaru left the sparring ring, Sasuke stopped his Taijutsu drills and clenched his fists. He was ready to call the snake out on his appearance, and say that he knew all too well about his real intentions.

Sasuke was a bit unnerved to know that he was nothing more but a shell for the former member of the Sannin to use when the time came, but that didn't stop him from staying and learning what he could from Orochimaru. If he understood what he had heard from Naruto correctly during their fight at the Valley of the End, the leader of the Hidden Sound would have to wait another three years before he transferred over to another body, and judging from his current appearance, Orochimaru must have done just that no more than a week ago.

_"Probably best to continue feigning ignorance. If I can keep up the act, Orochimaru won't be ready when I strike him down."_

Sasuke was prideful, this was true, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that Orochimaru was strong, and if he planned on being able to take down the Snake user when the time came, he need to have every advantage possible.

Thinking more on the topic made him think about who else might possibly know about Orochimaru. Kabuto was out of the question, namely because Sasuke didn't trust the guy. Kimimaro was not an option either; he was too loyal to Orochimaru. However...

There was Karin...

As far as Sasuke could tell, she shared similar sentiments towards Orochimaru. She obviously knew he wasn't someone to get on the wrong side of, and he could only guess she was taken into Oto either because she had no other options, or because she was forced to.

For now, Sasuke would keep a peg on Orochimaru and see if he could figure out anything else that he would be able to use to his advantage when the time came to get rid of him. If anyone got in his way, they would be dealt with in whatever fashion necessary. Sasuke had taken the path of avenger, and he would stick to it.

2525252525

"Well, boys, here we are. Welcome to the capital city of the Land of Fire."

Naruto and Gaara stood before a massive arched gateway, the kanji for Fire painted on either side in a fashion similar to that of the main gate of Konoha. There were no walls encompassing the massive city, and Naruto guessed that the capital was at least twice, if not three times, the size of Konohagakure.

"Damn..." Naruto profoundly stated.

There were stone lamps lining either side of the cobblestone road leading into the city, and every so often he spotted a samurai walking by, likely on patrol. In the far off distance he saw a massive building that towered over the other structures in the city.

"That must be the palace." Gaara spoke, following Naruto's gaze, "Jiraiya-sensei, how many people live here?"

Jiraiya laughed, "I couldn't possibly give you an accurate answer to that, but I'll go and guess about three to four times the population of Konohagakure, civilian and shinobi."

The three stepped headed towards the gates, only to have two samurai walk in front of them, decked in red armor with black helmets. The higher ranking of the two spoke, "Jiraiya-sama, it's good to see you. Hisao-dono has been expecting you for some time now."

Jiraiya grinned, "Really? I hope that I haven't upset the Fire Lord too badly. We had to make a side-trip and escort some allies from Sunagakure, so we were unable to be here as soon as we would have preferred."

The samurai gave a polite smile to the Toad Sage, "Not at all; Hisao-dono is completely understanding of the busy life you have; he's just eager to see you again, and meet your two pupils." The samurai looked to the two Chuunin standing behind Jiraiya and nodded before turning to his fellow patrol partner, "Send word to the Fire daimyo, inform him that Jiraiya-sama has arrived."

"Yes, taichou." The samurai then jogged on towards the direction of the palace.

"We can probably get there in half the time he does." Naruto spoke, "He doesn't need to go on ahead for us."

Jiraiya shook his head, "That's true, but it's better if we take our time. They need to prepare for us, after all."

"I was under the impression that we were expected." Gaara added, "What preparations do they need to make for us if we were expected to arrive almost a week ago?"

"The entrance ceremony, of course."

"Entrance...ceremony?" Naruto and Gaara repeated together.

Jiraiya nodded as they began down the road, "You two don't seem to realize how many people respect who I am. Hisao-dono is major fan of my work, and seeing as that I'm a respected shinobi of Konoha..."

"Respected pervert, you mean."

Jiraiya ignored the verbal jab from his blond apprentice, "...they want to see to it that we're all treated properly. I'm sure they'll have a large meal made for us, and then we'll get to be guests to a show of sorts at the theater, maybe a kabuki show, then perhaps I'll visit some of the local...establishments..." The sage giggled a bit while his nose trickled blood. Naruto and Gaara shared a look with each other before deciding fall back a bit further in hopes of not being associated with the pervert by the public.

Within ten minutes the trio was at the steps of the palace. The palace stood high above the other buildings, and was even larger then Naruto had first believed it to be. It was about ten stories high, and stretched out about several city blocks in all four cardinal directions. He took note of the ornamental trees that decorated the front, along with golden tiger statues that lined the stairway going up to the entrance of the palace entrance.

Another group of samurai, followed by a royal attendant, greeted Jiraiya and the two boys as they reached the top steps. The attendant was a balding man with gray hair and a long, thin beard that reached to his chest, "Welcome, Jiraiya-sama. I do hope your journey here was well."

Jiraiya grinned, "It was, thank you." He looked around a bit more before speaking further, "How is Hisao-dono these days?"

"Quite well, though it has been a bit stressful as of late with the war and whatnot. That and Natsumi-sama has been taking more political lessons from the advising council and our majesty himself."

"Oh, I can only imagine how that must be going."

The attendant merely smiled, "Natsumi-sama is very strong as far as character goes, but unlike Shuugo, she seems to lack patience when it comes to dealing with other people." He sighed a bit, "She does have her heart in the right place though when it comes to politics. She cares for her people and country before anything else."

"Good to hear, good to hear." Jiraiya gestured with a hand to the two boys, "These are my two talented students, Gaara of Sunagakure and Naruto Uzumaki."

"Sabaku no Gaara...and Naruto Uzumaki." The attendants eyes widened a fraction, "It is an honor to meet the two of you. I am Tetsuo Heiwakoe." He gave the two a bow, "I am the daimyo's head advisor, and have been in service of the royal family for two generations now." He looked back up to the two Chuunin, "I must say, word has spread about you two, as well as the others within your class, I believe. I do believe stating that your generation has proven to be quite the fine group of shinobi is an understatement."

"Heheh, we just do what we can." Naruto replied while placing his hands behind his head, "Nice to meet you, Tetsuo-san!"

Gaara gave a curt bow, "I'm honored to hear you regard us as such, Tetsuo-san."

The trio was then escorted through the main entrance, and down a large corridor that lead to another ornate door that was decorated with wood carvings of sakura trees blossoming. Tapestries of various animals, regal figures, and famous heroes lined either side of the hall, and Naruto found it hard to take it all in at once.

"Wow..."

Tetsuo looked back to Naruto and smiled, "The royal family has collected art from all over Fire Country for many generations now. Some artwork dates back to the days before the founding the Five Elemental Nations, even." He turned to Gaara before continuing, "We're even beginning to have art exchanges with the new royal family in Wind Country. The daimyo's taken a particular liking to the china made in the capital of Wind Country."

Gaara nodded, "I can understand that. My own family has an extensive collection back home as well, though we do not have anything dating before the reign of second Kazekage."

Jiraiya couldn't help but swell with pride; Gaara was on the ball as far as carrying on a conversation with the higher classes. Tetsuo was a man that Jiraiya had known since his days a mere Genin, and while he served the royal family, he was a man who was always humble and never looked down upon anyone because of class or social status.

"Really? What about paintings?"

Gaara shook his head, "Not too many, to be honest. Temari-neesan has a few paintings depicting the Wind Maidens according to various stories, but nothing else as far as I know. My brother isn't much of an art collector either, but he does know a lot about woodwork."

Tetsuo gave a laugh, "Well, should I ever find myself in Sunagakure, I'll be sure to take a look at the paintings. The Wind Maiden folklore is something I've always enjoyed reading about."

They were soon at the giant wooden doors, and Tetsuo turned to face the three ninja, "Give me a moment." He opened the doors enough so that he could walk through. Several servants held the doors open a crack, likely so Jiraiya and the three would be able to walk through side by side when opened fully. Tetsuo's voice could be heard, "Hisao-dono, Shijimi-sama, they're here."

"Ah, do let them in." spoke a man's voice.

"Yes, my lord." Tetsuo cleared his throat, "I present to you Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sabaku no Gaara."

"Alright, that's our cue you two." Jiraiya stated. The doors opened fully, and the three were welcomed by almost fifty samurai dressed in ornate armor, several dozen royal servants, and the royal family. Seated in the center was the Fire Daimyo and his wife, Madam Shijimi. To the Fire Daiymyo's right was Natsumi, the Fire Princess, and on Madam Shijimi's left was Shuugo, the Fire Prince.

"Ohhh, I told you that I was right, Hisao! That boy had helped me find my dear sweet little Tora!" spoke Madam Shijimi.

"Tora?" Gaara questioned in a whisper, Naruto being the only one who heard.

"Stupid cat..." Naruto grumbled quietly. Gaara decided not to question further on the matter.

The three ninja stopped a few meters away from the royal family, Jiraiya giving the most polite gesture he could muster, which was the equivalent to a very slow and deliberate nod in everyone else's eyes. Gaara and Naruto each gave curt bows, taking Jiraiya's gesture as their cue to do something similar. It was the royal family, after all.

"Jiraiya, it's been too long since you've visited the capital." The daimyo stood up, "Am I correct to assume you'll be staying for an extended period of time?"

The Toad Sage smiled, going back to his relaxed demeanor, "Yeah; these two are going to be hitting the books in palace library if you don't mind. I sent you a scroll not too long ago, and it sounded like you had no objections to that. I figured they could learn a few things while we're in the area. That and the two need more experience in the politics of the Five Elemental Countries, so what better way to learn than through travel while escorting royalty?

"Wait, you mean to tell me that _those_ two are my so-called elite bodyguards that I'm to have escorting me throughout Fire Country?"

Naruto and Gaara looked towards the Fire Princess, who appeared to be unamused by this information. She had a rather bored expression on her face, and looked like she would rather be somewhere else at the moment.

Jiraiya seemed unaffected by her rather upset tone, "Natsumi-hime! My, you've grown up since I've last seen you."

Natsumi gave the older shinobi a rather annoyed look, "I see you've grown more lecherous since I've last spoken to you. Your book series is truly a mar to Konohagakure's reputation. I don't know why you're allowed-"

"Natsumi-chan, that's enough." spoke Hisao, "Jiraiya-sama is to be treated as a guest, and you will do as such, understood?"

Natsumi scowled, but kept her dignified air about her, sitting up straighter and sighing, "Yes, Father."

Hisao shook his head before looking to the sage, "I apologize. Natsumi's been a bit short in temper lately, though it's understandable with the increased amount of time she's dedicating to learning the ways of politics."

"I'm not short in temper, Father. I just don't agree with the idea of having two inexperienced shinobi escorting me while I-"

"Actually, Natsumi-hime, these two are part of the group of shinobi that helped stave off Orochimaru's attack on Konoha not too long ago. In fact, Naruto even went toe-to-toe with the snake himself."

Natsumi didn't bat an eyelash, "From what I've heard, the Sandaime was there as well. I'm certain that he did most of the work in that fight."

Naruto, meanwhile, was grinding his teeth. He had learned gloating over your own achievements was far from admirable, but that didn't change the fact that he hated being looked down upon. Gaara sensed his friend's patience dwindling, and decided to speak before Naruto blurted out something he'd regret, "Even if that may be the case, we're at your service, Natsumi-sama."

Jiraiya let out a mental sigh; thank goodness Gaara had a grip over his emotions right now. Naruto looked to his fellow Chuunin before scratching his neck idly and bowing, "Yes, the same goes for me too, Natsumi-hime."

Natsumi smirked a bit; clearly they knew the position she held over them. While the ninja villages of the Elemental Nations stood, for the most part, independent of their respective countries, this was only so due to the presence of the Kage, who stood on equal rank with the daimyo of the countries throughout the land. Should a Konoha-nin be anywhere else in Fire Country, they answered to the daimyo, or in this case, Natsumi, the daimyo's daughter.

Jiraiya had once complained about this to Hiruzen back when he was a Genin. The Sandaime had replied by stating that the Konohagakure was the sword and shield of the Land of Fire, but the daimyo was the voice of the country. Each relied on the other to keep the country strong. If the country were ever in danger, Konoha would fight off the threat. However, the daimyo was the one who made sure that such threats were avoided as often as possible.

"Well, I'm sure the three of you are rather weary from your journey here," Hisao began, "We'll have my attendants show you all to your individual rooms, and then we'll see about having dinner. I believe roast duck and pheasant were the choices for this evening."

The two Chuunin were soon organizing their few belongings within the lavish and spacious rooms they had been given. Naruto and Gaara were situated across from each other while Jiraiya's room was a few doors away from them.

After setting his things down, Naruto let out a sigh before plopping onto the cushy bed, "Unnhhhh...man, I am bushed."

He took in his room, and guessed that his entire apartment was probably a fourth of its size. If Naruto was willing to admit one thing, it was that the nobility really knew how to treat their guests right. He gazed out the large window, which gave a clear view of the capital. In the distance he could see tree covered mountains, and a small temple nestled on one of the earthen structures.

A knock at the door shook him from his thoughts. He got up, and approached the door, opening it slowly. He was greeted by the sight of a young woman, probably no more than five years older than him. She had sandy blond hair not unlike Temari's that was kept in a neat bun with the help of two hairpins and wore a dull blue kimono. She gave the blond before her a curious look before speaking, "Naruto-sama?"

"Um..." Naruto blinked, taken back by the honorific, "...yes?"

The woman, who gave a soft smile, bowed, "I am Mami, and I will be your personal attendant during your stay. I'll be by everyday between eleven and noon to clean your room and change the sheets. If you ever need anything, I'll be happy to help." She looked to the younger blond, "Is there anything you'll be needing that we haven't already provided you?"

"Uh, no, not really. This place is awesome!" He grinned while looking around the room a bit more, "You can extend my thanks to the daimyo for the great place, if you want."

"Of course," she bowed, "I was told by Hisao-dono to inform you that dinner will be ready in one hour."

"Any dress code I should worry about?" Naruto asked, hoping that such a thing wasn't the case.

"No, but if you feel the need to, there should be some clothes in the wardrobe closet that you are free to wear." She leaned a bit closer before speaking, "Off the record, dressing for dinner is always appreciated by the Fire Lord."

"Heh, thanks Mami-chan."

"You're quite welcome, Naruto-sama."

"Oh, and Naruto's just fine. I'm not a big fan of formalities."

The attendant blinked before nodding, "If that is what you wish, I have no qualms with that request." She gave another smile before taking a step back, "I'm sure I'll see you later then, Naruto."

Naruto gave a nod to the girl before she left, and went to his closet that Mami had mentioned to him just moments ago. He slid open the door, and looked through the various formal wear before his eyes locked in on an orange and black men's kimono, "Sweet."

2525252525

Itachi stood in the unlit room of a small apartment within Takigakure. He flicked his ninjato once, crimson flying off it's edge and onto the wooden floor. He had just decapitated another Hidden Waterfall Jounin, and as far as he was aware, the last of the suspected traitors.

He sealed away the severed head of the Jounin, and calmly exited the house via bedroom window. The Jounin hadn't expected him, so he had been unable to put up a fight against the Uchiha. He leaped off the ledge of the window, and jumped through the trees of the small ninja village, avoiding the patrol teams as he did so.

He landed on the ground outside of the village boundaries and took off his Akatsuki cloak, and ring before removing his headband. He then pulled out another sealing scroll and placed said articles inside it before summoning another set of clothes. He now wore over a his black shirt a jet black cape, shin guards, and fingerless gloves. He looked around before pulling out a roll of parchment. He tore of a segment and scribbled a few words before summoning a small crow. The black colored bird gave a soft caw before letting Itachi tie the message to its leg. It bobbed its head once before looking to the Uchiha, as though waiting for the nuke-nin to say something.

"The mission was a success, in case you were wondering." He pulled a rice cracker out from his pouch and held it out. The bird's onyx eyes looked up to Itachi before plucking the cracker out of his hands and eating it. Itachi smirked a bit, "Good luck, and please deliver that as soon as possible."

The crow cocked its head to the side once more before giving a caw and disappearing in a puff of smoke. Itachi then turned south, and leaped off into the night. By the time his contact got the message, he'd be within the borders of Fire Country.

Honestly, he was looking forward to the upcoming task at hand. Namely because it would give him a break from the typical assassination work that he was always given. If all went as he hoped, he'd finally get a chance to befriend the boy that he had known since he started his career in ANBU.

2525252525

_"From what it sounds like, Hokage-sama, you simply wish for me to watch over Naruto Uzumaki, correct?"_

_ Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled while tapping the burnt tobacco out of his pipe, "Correct, Itachi. I feel that you are more than qualified to keep the boy company. You are an older brother, after all."_

_ Itachi was quiet for several seconds before he spoke, "That doesn't necessarily mean I'm a good brother, Hokage-sama."_

_ The Sandaime raised an eyebrow before frowning inwardly; Itachi was a wonderful boy, but do to his position in the Uchiha clan, he had little time to live a life that a boy his age should lead. He was a shinobi, yes, but even the young male shinobi of Konoha were given time to relax and enjoy the simpler things in life once in awhile._

_ "I know for a fact that Sasuke looks up to you, Itachi, even if you may think otherwise."_

_ Again Itachi was quiet. He continued to remain on one knee as he looked up to the elderly shinobi before him, "So, is it true that Uzumaki lives in an apartment by himself?"_

_ "Yes; the village provides him with a weekly amount from stipends provided to village orphans, but he still is too young to be living on his own. It's only because of the ANBU, myself, and those that see past the Kyuubi that he is managing to live such a life."_

_ Itachi was informed of the Kyuubi and Naruto's status as the demon fox's container the day he was inducted into ANBU. Hiruzen suspected that he'd soon be a captain, but for once he felt that letting Itachi take things slow was the best choice._

_ "When do I start?"_

_ "Today would be fine, actually." The Sandaime answered, "It's currently seven in the morning; Naruto will be awake soon. Perhaps you could visit him? It's summer, so I believe he's got plenty of __free time on his hands."_

_ Itachi stood up and gave a quick bow, "Very well, Hokage-sama." He pulled down his ANBU mask and disappeared in a puff of smoke. _

_ No more than five minutes later Itachi was landing on the roof that was Naruto's apartment. He landed on the ground in front of the steps leading up to the apartment flat belonging to blond haired boy. He had been given the boy's flat number the day he had been made an ANBU—just in case there was problems relating to the orphan. He had come to learn that the vast majority of ANBU actually liked the kid, especially the ANBU that had known him since he was first given his own apartment. He gave the usually bored ninja elite something to do during village patrol; the boy was a master at stealth when the occasion called for it, and even the famous Kakashi Hatake had trouble finding the boy at times._

_ Itachi approached the boy's door and knocked twice. _

_ "Just a second!" came the reply. The sound of feet padding the floor within the apartment could be heard, and the door swung open suddenly as two blue eyes looked up to meet Itachi's masked face. Naruto grinned before speaking, "Hi! Does Ojii-san want to see me?"_

_ "The Hokage wanted me to stop by and spend some time with you, actually." Itachi replied, kneeling down to the seven year old's level._

_ Naruto blinked before his smile grew into a grin, "Really? So, does that mean we can hang out and stuff?"_

_ Itachi nodded, "Pretty much."_

_ "Neat! Hey, hey, you ever been to Ichiraku's? It's awesome! They got really good ramen, and, and- oh! I got to find my shoes!" Naruto suddenly scampered off into his apartment once more, leaving the young ANBU at the door._

_ Itachi decided to walk in, and took in the boy's abode. It was, for the lack of a better word, spartan. There were two small chairs at a circular wooden table, and one of the chair legs seemed to be cracked. The boy's refrigerator was rather empty as he opened it; a carton of milk that was a week past its expiration date, a few shriveled vegetables, some leftover instant ramen, and few pieces of bread that looked rather old as well. Itachi frowned before closing the fridge; he'd be taking the boy out grocery shopping today, it seemed._

_ "Found them!"_

_ Itachi looked to see Naruto dashing out of his room with two shoes in his right hand. He quickly slipped them on and tied the laces on before looking up to Itachi, "Let's go to Ichiraku's!"_

_ Itachi smiled a bit behind his mask, "Sure. Then we're going to go grocery shopping. You're fridge is pretty much bare."_

_ "Awww, but grocery shopping is boring!" Naruto grumbled, "Can we do that later?"_

_ "No, we'll do that after Ichiraku's. After we get some food for you, we can go to the park, or maybe one of the Academy training grounds."_

_ "Oh...um..." Naruto looked down, "I don't really have a lot of money for food, though. My landlord charges a lot for rent, and I don't like asking for more money from Ojii-san."_

_ Itachi raised an eyebrow, "How much does he charge?" Naruto simply shrugged. Itachi gave a nod, "I see...Naruto, how about I treat you to ramen today?"_

_ Naruto's eyes literally sparkled, "R-really? You'll treat me to ramen?"_

_ Itachi knew what he was getting into,but his wallet could handle the mighty stomach of the young Jinchuuriki, "Yes, and then I'll buy you some groceries. How does that sound?"_

_ Naruto laughed, rubbing his eyes a bit, "Th-thanks, ANBU-san! All of you guys are really nice, haha!"_

_ Itachi found Naruto's smile to be rather contagious, and the Uchiha heir's smile widened ever slightly, "Right. Well, let's go get some ramen, Naruto."_

2525252525

Itachi had been Naruto's personal bodyguard since then, along with a few other ANBU that the Hokage trusted well enough to care for the boy. Itachi managed to persuade the landlord into lowering the boy's rent down to the normal rate for young shinobi, and also instructed Naruto on what one should have in their fridge aside from ramen and old milk. After that summer, he was assigned ANBU captain rank, and a few months later the Uchiha massacre occurred.

Looking ahead, Itachi noticed the forest was starting to thin. He pulled out a bandanna from his pocket and tied it around his face before continuing through the forest. Eventually he was forced to land on the ground and continue through an expansive grassland. By tomorrow, he'd be in the Land of Fire, and he'd likely get a message from Jiraiya by then. For now, he'd lay low, keep to himself, and play the role of the wandering vagabond. Within a month's time, he'd hopefully begin tutoring both Gaara and Naruto on what they would need to know if they planned on defending themselves against Akatsuki.

This was Itachi's true goal; he wished to not become powerful and test his limits like he had said to Sasuke, but to take down Akatsuki once and for all. No, in reality, he was a spy for Konoha, working as the eyes and ears for Jiraiya within Akatsuki. He had seen and heard of the two boys' feats through whispers and rumors, and he truly believed that the two Jinchuuriki were capable of stopping the organization once and for all. Then, after it was all said and done...maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to face his brother once more.

2525252525

~o~o~o~o~o~

**The Karasu Clan**

Itachi Uchiha is the sole summoner of the relatively young Karasu clan, which had been discovered by him shortly after he became a missing-nin. The Karasu clan specializes in stealth and reconnaissance, and a few of the birds are even capable of jutsu. Their leader is actually a raven named Kuroteisei, and who is talented in Genjutsu, much like Itachi, as well as Kenjutsu.

The Karasu clan chose Itachi as their summoner after monitoring him for some time during his time in Konohagakure and realizing just how dedicated he is to the village. Kuroteisei also feels strongly in defeating Akatsuki, feeling that the organization would bring great imbalance to the world if they should succeed in their plans.

The following is a brief story of his first encounter with the Karasu clan.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Itachi had been a nuke-nin for a little more than three weeks, joining Akatsuki upon the request of Madara. Currently, he was in Grass Country, having just finished a job for his new organization. He was taking a brief rest on a fallen log when he noticed a small a crow landing beside him. The Uchiha studied the black colored bird and offered it a rice cracker from a bag he had been carrying in his rations pouch. The crow happily took the cracker, ate it, and gave a caw before hopping off the log briefly.

Itachi watched as it flitted back with an item in one of its feet. The crow set a small scroll that his had been carrying in one of its talons done by the nuke-nin. Itachi realized right away that it was a summoning contract. Unsure of what to make of the mysterious crow, he unfurled the scroll only to see that none had signed it before him. Before he could think any further about it, a relatively large raven flapped down beside the Uchiha, and much to the Uchiha's surprise, spoke.

"Hey, kid."

Itachi managed to get a hold of himself; it wasn't the first time he'd seen talking animals. The Hokage had a contract with Enma the monkey, and he knew for a fact that many of the toads Jiraiya of the Sannin summoned were capable of speech as well.

The raven studied Itachi for a moment, seeing that Itachi was listening, and continued, "We've been keeping a tab on Konohagakure lately. We're aware of the predicament you're in."

Itachi examined the crow more closely. The crow was missing an eye, and had a black eye patch tied over the apparent injury. It wore a straw hat on its head as well as a brown vest.

"You have?" Itachi asked.

"Mm." The raven nodded, "My family and I," The raven gestured with a wing, and Itachi suddenly found himself surrounded by hundreds of crows and ravens of varying sizes, some wearing various articles of clothing, some carrying small weapons, and so forth, "we've been looking for a summoner for quite some time now. We're relatively knew to that area of jutsu, but we've seen the benefits of having a contract with humans. It creates alliances, and we'd like to be allies of Konoha. We think you'd make a great summoner for our family."

"Konoha's already allied with both the Toads and the Slugs." Itachi replied.

The raven grunted, "That's true, but we're relatively neutral in the summoning circles."

Itachi looked over to the scroll before speaking, "Why me?"

"You're a true shinobi, through and through." The raven answered, "Your dedication and the ability to stick to your beliefs is truly admirable." The bird hopped off the log and walked in front of the Uchiha, "Itachi Uchiha, we wish to help you stop Akatsuki."

Itachi's eyes narrowed, and he drew a kunai from out of nowhere, "What are you talking about?"

A few of the crows and ravens began cawing while some of the birds carrying weapons prepared to attack. The apparent leader simply raised a wing, "Stand down! He hasn't attacked me."

The birds silenced almost immediately, and the Uchiha locked gazes with the raven, "How do you know about that?"

"I can tell. You're not the kind of person who would want to be part of an organization like this. You're too good of a person to really want to do that, despite what you seem to portray on the outside."

Itachi was disturbed, to say the least. How much did they know about him? He pocketed his kunai before speaking again, "Why should I trust you?"

The raven laughed, which sounded much like a caw, "Ever the cautious one. Good..." The raven walked forward, "We want to stop this organization as well. We've seen what that Madara has done...I've got family throughout the world, and they've told me about what he's done. His history is a dark one, to say the least."

Itachi frowned, looking at the blank scroll, "If I sign this, is it really possible for your clan to help me? What do you specialize in?"

"We specialize in spying namely. Everyone you see here has been trained in the art of reconnaissance, and we're capable of blending in with the shadows, or just becoming a part of the background. Besides...who honestly believes that a crow would be capable of jutsu?" The raven chuckled as Itachi gave a nod of understanding, "So, what do you say, Itachi Uchiha?"

Itachi thought about it. He was, in essence, alone. Madara seemed to be aware of the hatred Itachi had towards him, but neither of the two were willing to make a move against each other. Having allies like the Karasu clan could be beneficial, especially if he was planning on spying. He could send word to the Sandaime without anyone knowing.

Itachi bit his thumb before smearing blood on his four fingers, then pressing his bloodied finger prints on the paper. He signed his name in blood and handed the scroll to the raven. The one-eyed raven gave what appeared to be a smile, "You have our loyalty, Itachi Uchiha." He gave a bow before looking back up, "Oh, almost forgot," He extended a wing towards the Uchiha, "The name's Kuroteisei."

Itachi took the crows wing and shook it lightly.

And so ends the tale of how Itachi became the sole summoner of the Karasu clan.

~o~o~o~o~o~

2525252525

**End of Chapter Twenty-five: Yeah, a bit of a transition chapter here. I plan on going into stories that will focus on numerous characters during the next two to three years. Who exactly those people, I'm not one-hundred percent certain on, but I've got a list of candidates (though Naruto and Gaara of course will show up). Some may be on the front lines, others may be teaching new students and preparing them for Genin-ship during a war. Some may be ANBU...who knows?**

**By the way, for those who were wondering, Princess Natsumi and Prince Shuugo are both characters I borrowed from by beta-reader, Paradox Jast. They're originally from his fanfic, _Whirlpool Country_, but they were both so wonderful as far as OCs go that I just had to ask for permission to use them, which he so generously gave me. They'll be playing an important role in future chapters, for those of you who were curious.**

**As for that little excerpt about Itachi and the Karasu clan, I figured I'd just give a little back story on how he can summon crows. Personally, I feel that he fits the role; he uses crows in his jutsu, so why not have them as allies? Besides, crows and ravens are awesome.**

**So yeah, that's chapter 25 for you. Hope you enjoyed. The upcoming chapters will focus mostly on Naruto and Gaara and their training with Jiraiya and such. As always, thanks for reading!**


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